▪ I. scarce, a. and adv.
(skɛəs)
Forms: α. 3–7 scars, skars(e, 4–8 scarse, (5 scarske), 5–7 skarce, 6 Sc. skairs(e, skarss, skeis(s, skaris, skairce, 7 Sc. schairce, 5– scarce; β. 5–6 scace, 6 scas(e, skace, skase, Sc. scaysse.
[ME. scars, a. ONF. scars, escars, escas (Central OF. eschars, mod.F. échars, now only said of coin, with the sense ‘below standard value’, and of wind, in sense 1 b below) = Pr. escars, escas, Sp. escaso, Pg. esca{cced}o, escasso, It. scarso:—popular L. *scarsus (med.L. scarsus from It. and Fr.), prob. repr. an older *excarpsus, pa. pple. of *excarpĕre (= class. L. excerpĕre to select out, excerpt), f. ex (see ex-) + carpĕre to pluck. Cf. MDu. schaers (Du. schaars) from Fr.]
A. adj.
† 1. a. Restricted in quantity, size, or amount; scanty. Obs.
| α 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6862 His moder he dude ek in warde & scars liflode ire found. 1340 Ayenb. 53 Nou behoueþ to habbe tuo mesures ane little and ane scarse, þet he useþ touore þe uolke. And anoþre guode and large, þet he useþ þet non ne y-zyȝþ. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 457 Vile cloþinge and scars [L. vilis et rara vestis] we haveþ in stede of gold and of greet array. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 478 His hous in london is to streyt & scars To doon his craft. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. i. 90 Bot at evin only they first prepaired the table, and that verie scharpe and skairs. |
| β 1509 Barclay Ship of Fools (1874) II. 103 Than was theyr fode scas, theyr lyuynge lyberall Theyr labour comon, they knewe no couetyse. |
† b. Of wind: Slight in force or strength; almost calm. Obs.
| c 1400 St. Alexius (Laud 622) 560 Þe wynde was gret, & nothing skars, þonder dyned shille. 1511 Guylforde's Pylgr. (Camden) 11 How be it y⊇ wynde was so scarce and calme that we coude not come to the towne of Corfona tyll Monday ayenst nyght. 1600 Hakluyt Voy. III. 401 Wee sayled neere to the coast on the same side, with very scarce winde, and in a manner calme. |
† c. Of the water of a river, etc.: Low. Obs.
| 1732 Earl of Oxford in Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 150 This year has been very bad for them [the boats], the water is very scarce. |
2. † a. Of persons, their attributes and actions: Stingy, sparing, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious. Also, sparing or chary of. Obs.
| α c 1330 King of Tars 92 Sire, the kyng of Tars Of wikked wordes nis not scars. 13.. Seuyn Sag. (W.) 1244 Bothe he was scars and chinche. c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶633 Ye shul vse the richesses,..in swich a manere, that men holde nat yow to scars, ne to sparynge, ne to fool large. c 1400 Cato's Morals 211 in Cursor M. App. iv. 1672 Be scarske of þi louing. 1483 Caxton Golden Leg. 128 b/1 And gaf to them largely to ete suche as they asked but to herself she was hard in her sekeness & skarce. c 1500 Three Kings Sons 78 The sone of a mighti kynge hath delyuerd a felaw that he knew not, which hath not ben scars, nor of so pore corage, but that he hath wele to his knowlage delyuerd the sone of the grettist kynge that leuyth. c 1510 Barclay Mirr. Gd. Manners (1570) G j, Men oft haue repented of wordes superflue, But seldome of scilence doth any man repent, Wherfore scarce of wordes is counted great vertue. 1531 Elyot Gov. iii. xxvii, Superfluous in wordes, or els to scarse. a 1539 in Archæologia XLVII. 54 Wee..aduertise you all to be contented to lyue under a scarcer manour for a tyme then ye haue doon in tymes past. 1562 Shute Cambine on Turkish Aff. 52 b, They knewe him to be of nature scarse, and not liberal. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. viii. (1628) 244 Whereas many haue written of these Etymologies, yet are all of them very scarse in shewing the reasons of many their interpretations. a 1639 T. Carew To A. L. 12 And 'twere a sin There to be scarce, where she hath bin So prodigal of her best graces. |
| β 1414 Brampton Penit. Ps. (Percy Soc.) 21 To synfull man thou were nevere scace Of ‘Ne reminiscaris, Domine!’ a 1550 Vox Populi 740 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 293 By cause thei be so base, Thei wylbe neadye and scase [Harl. MS. skarsse]. |
b. Of a period of time: Characterized by scarcity. ? Obs.
| c 1290 All Saints' Day 41 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 419 Ech man..made þane day feste, And in a skars tyme of þe ȝere ase we wyten, it was in May. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia ii. 31 Powhatan..and some others that are provident, rost their fish and flesh vpon hurdles..and keepe it till scarce times. |
3. Of food or other commodities, rarely of immaterial things: Existing or accessible in deficient quantity.
| α c 1374 Chaucer Former Age 36 Ther as vitaile is eek so skars and thinne That noght but mast or apples is therinne. c 1450 Brut 448 In þat tyme money was skarse. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 7 Where words are scarse, they are seldome spent in vaine, For they breath truth, that breath their words in paine. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. 301 The Padre told Capt. Swan that Provision was now scarce on the Island. 1842 Tennyson Audley Court 31 Then touch'd upon the game, how scarce it was This season. 1878 Stubbs Const. Hist. III. xviii. 90 Money was scarce. 1896 Law Times C. 488/2 Like most other lawyers, Inglis had his probationary period when work was scarce. |
| β 1414 Brampton Penit. Ps. (Percy Soc.) 37 For my tyme is lytel here; My dayes be waxen wonder scace. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, iv. 153 All thyng there was scace, by reason of the continuall warres. |
4. a. Existing in limited number; seldom seen or met with; rare. Said chiefly of things that are sought after by collectors, e.g. a book, coin, engraving, a species of plant or animal.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvi. xlviii, [Gems] ben preciouse for þey ben scars and diuerse; for all þat is scars and selden hadde [L. omne enim rarum] is clepid gret and preciouse. 1705 Addison Italy, Bolonia 434 The scarcest of all is a Pescennius Niger on a Medallion well preserv'd. 1710 Hearne Coll. (O.H.S.) III. 41 A scarse Book. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xvii, You will not find it a scarce quality here. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Note-bks. II. 219 Good bakers were as scarce in ancient Rome as in the modern city. 1873 Chamb. Jrnl. 27 Dec. 821/2 The wood-cock..is much scarcer than it used to be. 1884 Chr. World 31 July 583/3 Knowledge is scarce, wisdom is scarcer. |
b. in collectors' names of butterflies and moths.
| 1832 J. Rennie Butterfl. & Moths 1 The scarce Swallow Tail. Ibid. 2 The scarce Clouded Yellow. 1884 Leisure Hour Jan. 48/1 The rarest is one of the fen-country butterflies, known as the ‘Scarce Copper’. |
† c. said of a disease. Obs. rare.
| 1528 Paynell Salerne's Regim. b iij, Pontike melancolye is very scarse. |
5. scarce of: poorly or scantily supplied or provided with; deficient in; not having much of, short of. Now rare or Obs.
| 1541 R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg. O ij b, In places drye and scarce of flesshe, as the fyngers and ioyntes. 1547 Boorde Introd. Knowl. xxx. (1870) 198 These countreys be baryn of wine and corne, and skarse of vitels. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 433 Dislodging from a Region scarce of prey To gorge the flesh of Lambs. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. (1693) 1098 We are very scarce of such citizens. 1808 Pike Sources Mississ. (1810) III. 253 This route..is very scarce of water. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest xiii, We are scarce of provisions. |
6. Phr. to make oneself scarce: to absent oneself, go away, keep away. colloq.
| 1809 Malkin Gil Blas x. i. ¶2 My liberty was granted only on condition of making myself scarce in the two Castiles. 1826 Scott Jrnl. (1890) I. 169 Rose late in the morning, past eight, to give the cold and toothache time to make themselves scarce, which they have obligingly done. 1860 Thackeray Lovel i, When Lovel's wife began to show me that she was tired of my company, I made myself scarce. 1895 Mrs. H. Ward Bessie Costrell iv, Just mek yourselves scarce, all the lot o' yer. |
7. Qualifying a noun of action, forming a phrase equivalent to the gerund qualified by scarcely. rare.
| 1841 Lever C. O'Malley lxxvii, She..with a half smile of scarce recognition passed by me. |
B. adv.
† 1. Scantily, sparsely. Cf. scarcely adv. 1. Obs. rare.
| c 1300 Beket 274 (Percy Soc.) 13 And of the beste him silve he at swithe scars and lute. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 9 For when hit schall be dere, hit walleth scarce; and when hit schall be gret schep, hit walleþe plentwysly ynogh. |
2. Now arch. or literary. a. Barely, only just; not quite; = scarcely adv. 2. Also † full scarce.
See the remarks under scarcely 2, which apply also to the uses of this word. Before advs. in -ly the form scarce is often adopted instead of scarcely, to avoid the iteration of the suffix.
| α 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. xvi. 71 A litel hows whiche hath in euery side skars a mannes lengthe. 1558 Bp. Watson Sev. Sacram. xii. 73 All wee haue done, is but our dutie and skarse that. 1565 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 402 Skairis aneuch to sustene this thair realme. 1577 Kendall Flowers of Epigrammes 4 b, With worldly cares he was so toste, that scarse he tooke his reste. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. i. 112 Retyring from the Siege of Orleance, Hauing full scarce six thousand in his troupe. 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 40 The blinde may Judge as well of colours, as may Master Selden of a deceiving argument, who hath saluted Logick scarce along. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 54 In a hand scars legible. 1671 ― P.R. iii. 85 Till Conquerour Death discover them scarce men, Rowling in brutish vices. 1676 Prideaux Lett. (Camden) 54, I scarce think she would marry on [= one] with nothing. a 1699 A. Halkett Autobiog. (1875) 44 They were so shaken they could skarce hold there feett. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1766) I. 188 He scarce ever went to their meetings. 1720 Waterland Eight Serm. 119 The other Construction..is scarce Sense. 1862 Tennyson Idylls Ded. 6 And indeed He seems to me Scarce other than my own ideal knight. 1886 C. E. Pascoe Lond. of To-day xx. (ed. 3) 200 A sleepy little town scarce bigger than a village. 1886 Stevenson Treas. Isl. xiv, I ran as I never ran before, scarce minding the direction of my flight, so long as it led me from the murderers. |
| β 1526 Tindale Acts xiv. 18 With these sayings scase refrayned they the people. 1548 in Cal. Scott. Pap. (1898) I. 91 Her ovarlope ys so sanke, scaysse abull to bere her ordynans. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 470 The stowte Souldiour for faintnesse could scase welde his weapon. |
† b. with pleonastic negative. Cf. scarcely 2 b, scant adv. 1 c. Obs.
| 1591 Harington Orl. Fur. Pref. ¶8 For the verse I do challenge none, being a thing that euery body that neuer scarce bayted their horse at the Vniuersitie take vpon them to make. 1624 Ld. Kensington in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. III. 177 They will not conceive mee nor scarse receive mee but as a publike instrument for the service of an alliance. 1685 J. Dunton Lett. fr. New-Eng. (1867) 13 Not Heljogabalus himself could scarce boast a more delicious table. |
c. with reference to time. Cf. scarcely 2 c.
| α 1513 Douglas æneis xii. iii. 90 Scars had Juno thir wordis brocht to end, Quhen [etc.]. a 1547 Surrey æneid ii. (1557) B iij, Scarse spake I this, when wailing thus he sayd. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. ii. (1848) 173 We had scarce entred those Fields, when our Ears were saluted with [etc.]. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 850 There he her met, Scarse from the Tree returning. 1799 S. Turner Hist. Anglo-Sax. 352 Scarce had they submitted, but the Huns were invading him [Charlemagne]. |
| β a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI 90 He had skace ended his exhortacion, but the Englishmen beyng encouraged with his prudent persuasion, sette on their enemies. |
d. Qualifying a ppl. adj. used attributively. Commonly hyphened.
| 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iv. iii. 50 Our scarse-cold Conqueror,..Henrie the fift. 1594 Kyd Cornelia iii. i. 86 His iawes..slyghtly couer'd with a scarce-seene skyn. 1607–12 Bacon Ess., Fortune (Arb.) 376 A number of litle and scarce discerned vertues. 1631 Milton Epit. March. Winch. 20 He at their invoking came But with a scarce-wel-lighted flame. c 1665 Bp. King Let. to Walton, The scarce-closed wounds of a newly bleeding State and Church. 1814 Byron Lara ii. xix, The accents his scarce-moving pale lips spoke. 1868 FitzGerald tr. Omar xc, And once again there gather'd a scarce heard Whisper among them. 1899 H. Wright Depopulation 102 The pair rose from the scarce-tasted breakfast. 1915 G. Frankau Tid'apa ii. 14 A scarce-breathed, flickering soul-wave, discoded but conscience-deep. 1921 W. de la Mare Veil 35 There came, scarce-heard, Claws, fluttering feathers, Of deluded bird. 1922 Blunden Shepherd (ed. 2) 53 In the scarce-glimmering boles. 1935 C. Day Lewis Time to Dance 33 Like a bird scarce-fledged they flew, whose flying-hours are few. 1951 W. de la Mare Winged Chariot 57, I match that child with this scarce-changed old man. |
† 3. Seldom, scarcely ever, rarely. Obs.
| 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. Prol. 40 The turtle dwe, the feldifare, the nichtingale, with vthiris natiounis ar frequent bot skairs with us ar fund. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. i. ii. 41 For those that she makes faire, she scarce makes honest. 1663 Wood Life (O.H.S.) I. 479 Never or scarse was the like seen. |
4. Used (after L. vix) for: With difficulty. rare.
| 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 470 Scarse from his mould Behemoth biggest born of Earth upheav'd His vastness. 1819 Shelley Prometh. ii. v. 17 How thou art changed! I dare not look on thee;..I scarce endure The radiance of thy beauty. 1883 R. W. Dixon Mano i. xv. 49 For a brass demon..Leaped on him, and he scarce departed thence, Leaving the riches o'er the cavern strewn. |
▪ II. † scarce, v. Obs. rare.
Forms: 4 skarse, 5 scarce, 5, 7 scarse.
[f. scarce a. Cf. scarcen.]
1. intr. a. To become less, diminish. b. To become scarce.
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 313 The wyndy Storm began to skarse. a 1500 Brut 400 (MS. Galba), By that tyme her vitailis scarsid sore with-ynne the Cite. |
2. trans. To make less; to rarefy.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 442/2 Scarsyn, or make lesse, minoro. 1598 Florio, Scarsare, to scarce, to spare, to pinch, to cut off, to scant. 1603 Platt Fire of Cole-balles, When the smoke doth passe and become scarsed through the lome. |