adj.
 (of a resource) insufficient for the demand. 
▸rare.
adv.
 archaic scarcely.
 
  Phrase
  
    
      - make oneself scarce
 informal leave a place. 
    
   
  Derivative
  
    - scarcely adv.
  - scarceness n.
  - scarcity n.
 
   
  Etymology
  ME (in the sense ‘restricted in size’, also ‘parsimonious’): from Anglo-Norman escars, from a Romance word meaning ‘selected’.