efficienti

Efficienti is the plural masculine and feminine form of the Italian adjective efficiente. It is used to describe persons, processes, devices, or systems that operate with minimal waste of time, energy, or materials relative to a goal. In everyday language, one speaks of macchine efficienti, processi efficienti, or metodi efficienti. The related noun efficienza denotes the state or quality of being efficient. The adjectives efficiente and efficace express related, but distinct ideas: efficiente (efficient) emphasizes optimization of resources and performance; efficace (effective) emphasizes achieving a desired result, regardless of resource use.

Etymology: from Latin efficere ‘to accomplish,’ through medieval forms that yielded the Italian efficienza and efficiente.

In technical contexts, efficienti appears as the plural form to describe multiple efficient items or actors. In science and engineering, efficiency is typically defined as the ratio of useful output to total input. Common terms include efficienza energetica (energy efficiency), efficienza meccanica (mechanical efficiency), and efficienza algoritmica (algorithmic efficiency). Economically, one speaks of efficienza economica or productive efficiency, allocative efficiency, and related concepts.

See also: efficienza, efficienza energetica, efficienza economica, efficienza termica, efficienza di conversione, ottimizzazione.