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Webster 1913 Edition


Scanty

Scant′y

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Scantier
;
sup
erl.
Scantiest
.]
[From
Scant
,
Adj.
]
1.
Lacking amplitude or extent; narrow; small; not abundant.
His dominions were very narrow and
scanty
.
Locke.
Now
scantier
limits the proud arch confine.
Pope.
2.
Somewhat less than is needed; insufficient; scant;
as, a
scanty
supply of words; a
scanty
supply of bread
.
3.
Sparing; niggardly; parsimonious.
In illustrating a point of difficulty, be not too
scanty
of words.
I. Watts.
Syn. – Scant; narrow; small; poor; deficient; meager; scarce; chary; sparing; parsimonious; penurious; niggardly; grudging.

Webster 1828 Edition


Scanty

SCANT'Y

,
Adj.
[from scant, and having the same signification.]
1.
Narrow; small; wanting amplitude or extent.
His dominions were very narrow and scanty.
Now scantier limits the proud arch confine.
2.
Poor; not copious or full; not ample; hardly sufficient; as a scanty language; a scanty supply of words; a scantly supply of bread.
3.
Sparing; niggardly; parsimonious.
In illustrating a point of difficulty, be not too scanty of words.

Definition 2024


scanty

scanty

English

Adjective

scanty (comparative scantier, superlative scantiest)

  1. Somewhat less than is needed in amplitude or extent.
    • 1864–1865, Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend:
      Present on the table, one scanty pot of tea, one scanty loaf, two scanty pats of butter, two scanty rashers of bacon, two pitiful eggs, and an abundance of handsome china bought a secondhand bargain.
    • 1979, by B. Jonson, Amerigine:
      Traditions older than paleoarctic, as scanty as the evidence may be, show clearly that colonization of Alberta and even as far north as southern Alaska came from the south.
  2. Sparing; niggardly; parsimonious.
    • I. Watts.
      In illustrating a point of difficulty, be not too scanty of words.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

External links

  • scanty in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • scanty in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • scanty at OneLook Dictionary Search