externality

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The state of being external or externalized.

   But according to the theory of the externality of relations, terms acquire from their new relations an added character, which does not either condition, or necessarily alter, the character which they already possess.

2. 2
   noun

   An impact, positive or negative, on any party not involved in a given economic transaction or act.

   Waste is a negative externality arising from consumption.

3. 3
   noun

   the quality or state of being outside or directed toward or relating to the outside or exterior

4. 4
   noun

   A thing that is external relative to something else.

From external + -ity. In the economic sense coined by British economist Alfred Marshall in 1890.

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