'cost-efficient' originates from the combination of 'cost' and 'efficient', where 'cost' refers to the amount of money required and 'efficient' means achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.

'cost-efficient' evolved from the need to describe processes or systems that minimize expenses while maximizing output.

Initially, it meant 'minimizing expenses', but over time it evolved to include the idea of maximizing productivity as well.