Minimalism
Etymology
From "minimal" (Latin "minimus," smallest) plus the suffix -ism. It was named as an art movement in the 1960s for work reduced to plain geometric forms and bare materials, then spread outward to music, design, and eventually a whole philosophy of owning and doing less.
noun · /MIN-uh-muh-liz-uhm/
A style or way of living that deliberately strips things down to the essential and spare.
What it names
Useful across art, design, and lifestyle for the intentional choice of less — fewer elements, fewer possessions — as a value in itself.
Example
After the move they embraced minimalism, keeping only what they used and loved.
Related idea
Frugality is about spending less; minimalism is about owning and keeping less — a deliberate paring to essentials for its own sake.
noun · /MIN-uh-muh-liz-uhm/
A mid-twentieth-century movement in art and music that pared works down to simple, often repeated forms and a bare minimum of elements.
What it names
The specific artistic and musical movement, not the general lifestyle sensibility.
Example
Philip Glass’s hypnotic, repetitive scores are a hallmark of musical minimalism.
Related idea
Where the baroque piled on ornament, minimalism stripped it away to the essentials.