Main Entry:

¹scarce

Pronunciation:

\ˈskers\

Function:

adjective

Inflected Form(s):

scarc·er; scarc·est

Etymology:

Middle English scars, from Anglo-French eschars, escars narrow, stingy, deficient, from Vulgar Latin *excarpsus, literally, plucked out, past participle of Latin excerpere to pluck out — more at excerpt

Date:

14th century

1 : deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand : not plentiful or abundant 2 : intentionally absent <made himself scarce at inspection time>

synonyms see infrequent

— scarce·ness noun