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’.
