scarce 
scarce (skars), a. [Early mod. E. also scarse ; 
< ME. scarce, skarce, scarse, scars = MD. 
ni'/iners, sparing, niggard, D. schaars, schaarsch, 
scarce, rare, = Bret, scarz, niggard, scanty, 
short, < OF. scars, usually escars, eschars, rarely 
eschar, eskar, eschard, sparing, niggard, parsi- 
monious, miserly, poor ; of things, small, little, 
weak, few, scarce, light (of weight), strict, F. 
echars, light (as winds), F. dial, ecars, rare, 
echarre, sparing, = Pr. escars, cscas = OSp. es- 
casso, Sp. escaso = Pg. escasso = It. scarso, 
niggard, sparing, scanty, etc., light (of 
weight); ML. scarsus, diminished, reduced; 
origin uncertain. According to Diez, Mahn, 
Skeat, and others, < ML. scarpsus, excarpsus, for 
L. excerptus, pp. of excerpere, pick out, choose, 
select (see excerp and excerpt), the lit. sense 
'picked out,' 'selected,' leading, it is supposed, 
to the sense 'rare,' 'scarce' (Skeat), or to the 
souse ' contracted,' 'shortened' (Muratori, 
Mahn), whence 'small,' 'scarce'; but ML. 
scarpsus, excarps>is,is not found in any sense of 
scarce, and this view ignores the early person- 
al use, 'sparing,' 'parsimonious,' which can 
hardly be connected with ML. scarpsus except 
by assuming that searpsus was used in an ac- 
tive sense, 'picking out,' 'selecting,' and so 're- 
serving,' ' sparing.' The physical use in MD. 
schaers afscheren, shear off close, shave close, 
It. cogliere scarso, strike close, graze (see 
scarce, adv.), scarsare, cut off, pinch, scant (see 
scarce, v.), suggests some confusion with MD. 
schaers, a pair of shears, also a plowshare, 
and the orig. verb scheeren, shear (see shearl, 
shears, share 1 ). The personal sense, 'sparing,' 
' niggard,' is appar. the earliest in E. and OF.] 
If. Sparing; parsimonious; niggard; niggard- 
ly; stingy. 
Ye shul use the richesses ... In swlch a manere that 
men holde nat yow to scars ne to sparynge ne to foollarge. 
Chaucer, Tale of Melibeus. 
That on was bothe curteis and kende, 
Lef to give and lef to spende ; 
And that other lef to pinche, 
Bothe he was scars and chinche. 
Sevyn Sages, 1. 1244. 
Also God doeth commaund him which shall be king 
that he hoord not vp much treasure, that he be not scarce, 
or a nigarde, for the office of a Merchaunt is to keepe, 
but of a King to giue and to be liberall. 
Guevara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1577), p. 11. 
2. Scantily supplied; poorly provided; not 
having much : sometimes with of. [Obsolete 
or archaic.] 
In day[e]s olde, whan small apparaill 
Sufflsed vn-to hy astate or mene, 
Was grete howsholde stuffld with vitaill ; 
But now howsholdes be full scars and lene. 
Booke of Precedence (E. E. T. S., extra ser.), i. 108. 
As when a vulture, on Imaus bred, . . . 
Dislodging from a region scarce of prey, 
. . . flies toward the springs 
Of Ganges or Hydaspes, Indian streams. 
Milton, P. L., iii. 433. 
3t. Diminished; reduced from the original or 
the proper size or measure ; deficient ; short. 
Nou behoueth to habbe tuo mesures, ane little and ane 
tcarse, thet he useth touore the uolke. And anothre guode 
and large, thet he useth thet non ne y-zygth [sees]. 
Ayenbite of Inwyt (E. E. T. S.), p. 53. 
4. Deficient in quantity or number; insufficient 
for the need or demand; scant; scanty; not 
abundant. 
Hys moder he dude in warde & scars lyflede her fonde 
In the abbeye of Worwell & bynome hyre hyr londe. 
Robert of Gloucester, p. 334. 
How be it ye wynde was so scarce and calme that we 
coude not come to the towne of Corf ona tyll Monday ayenst 
nyght. Sir R. Guylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 11. 
The Padre told Capt. Swan that Provision was now 
scarce on the Island ; but he would engage that the Gov- 
ernour would do his utmost to furnish us. 
Dampier, Voyages, I. 301. 
5. Few in number; seldom seen; infrequent; 
uncommon; rare: as, scarce coins; a scarce 
book. 
The scarcest of all is a Pescennius Niger on a medallion 
well preserved. Addison, Remarks on Italy. 
Nor weeds are now, for whence arose the weed 
Scarce plants, fair herbs, and curious flowers proceed. 
Crabbe, Works, I. 5!). 
6. Characterized by scarcity, especially of pro- 
visions, or the necessaries of life. 
Others that are provident rost their flan and flesh vpon 
hurdles as before is expressed, and keepe it till scarce 
times. Capt. John Smith, Works, I. 132. 
To make one's self scarce, to make off; get out of the 
way ; leave at once. [Colloq.] 
You seem to forget that my liberty was granted only on 
condition of making myself scarce in the two Castiles. 
Smollett. 
5379 
You left me planted there obliged to matte myself 
scarce because I had broken contract. 
George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, Ixii. 
= Syn. 4 and 6. Rare, Scarce. See rorl. 
scarce (skars), adv. [= MD. schaers, schaiirx, 
scarce, close (cf. schaers afscheren, shear or 
shave close ;*cf. It. cogliere scarso, strike close, 
graze; prop, the adj.); < scarce, a.] Hardly; 
barely; scarcely. 
Their successors have done very little, or scarce made 
any attempts. Bacon, Physical Fables, ii. 
To Noah's Ark scarce came a thicker Croud 
For life than to be slain there hither flow'd. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, iii. 170. 
I had scarce taken orders a year, before I began to think 
seriously of matrimony. Goldsmith, Vicar, i. 
While I profess my ignorance, I scarce know what to 
say I am ignorant of. Lamb, Chapter on Ears. 
SCarcet (skars), v. t. [< ME. scarsen (= It. 
scarsare); < scarce, a.] To make less; dimin- 
ish; make scant. Prompt. Pan'., p. 442. 
Scarsare [It.], to scarce, to spare, to pinch, to cut off, to 
scant. Florio. 
scarcely (skars'li), adv. [< ME. scarsly, scarsely, 
scarseliche, scarsttche, skarschliche ; < scarce + 
-/i/ 2 .] If. Sparingly; parsimoniously; nig- 
gardly; stingily. 
Lyve as scarsly as hym list desire. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., 1. 583. 
2f. Scantily; insufficiently. 
He that soweth scarsly, schal and scarsly repe ; and he 
that soweth in blessingis schal repe and of blessyngis. 
WycKf, 2 Cor. ix 0. 
3. Hardly; barely; with difficulty. 
He scarcely knew him, striving to disown 
His blotted form, and blushing to be known. 
Dryden, ^Eneid, vi. 670. 
Early one morning, when it was scarcely the gray of the 
dawn. Irving, Granada, p. 54. 
The sentence of Bacon had scarcely been pronounced 
when it was mitigated. Stacaulay, Bacon. 
Their characters afford scarcely a point of contact. 
Prescott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 16. 
There was a thick fog, which the moon scarcely bright- 
ened. B. Taylor, Northern Travel, p. 118. 
scarcement (skars'ment), n. [Formerly also 
skarsment; origin obscure.] 1. In building, a, 
setback in the face of a wall, or in a bank of 
earth ; a footing or ledge formed by the setting 
back of a wall. 2. In mining, a small project- 
ing ledge left in a shaft as a temporary sup- 
port for a ladder, or for some similar purpose. 
scarceness (skars'nes), n. [< ME. scarsenes, 
scarsnesse; < scarce + -ness.'] The state or con- 
dition of being scarce. Specifically (at) Sparing, 
ness ; parsimony ; niggardliness. 
The zeuen principals uirtues thet ansuerieth to the 
zeue vices, ase deth bo samnesse a-ye prede, . . . Largesse 
a-ye scarmesse. Ayenbite of Inwyt (E. E. T. S.), p. 159. 
(6) Deficiency ; dearth. 
We recouerde syght of the yle of Candy, wherof we made 
grete joye, not oonly for the happy escape frome the grete 
daunger yt we were late in, but also for the lacke and 
scarsenes of vytayllys that was in our galye. 
Sir R. Guylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 60. 
(c) Bareness; infrequency of occurrence ; uncommonness. 
The value of an advantage is enhanced byits scarceness. 
Collier. 
scarcity (skSr'si-ti), n. [< ME. scarsitie, scar- 
sete, scursite, skarsete, < OF. escarsete, escarcete, 
escarcite, escharsete, cscharcete, scharsete, parsi- 
mony, niggardliness, miserliness, meanness, 
deficiency, lack, = It. scarcita, scarcity, light 
weight (cf. It. scarsezza, Sp. escasez, scarcity) ; 
as scarce + -ity.] If. Sparingness ; parsimony ; 
niggardliness ; stinginess. 
Right as men blamen an averous man, bycause of his 
skarsete and chynuherie, in the same manner is he to blame 
that spendeth oner largely. 
Chaucer, Tale of Melibeus (ed. Wright), p. 162. 
2. The state or condition of being scarce; 
smallness of quantity or number, or smallness 
in proportion to the wants or demands ; abso- 
lutely, deficiency of things necessary to the 
subsistence of man ; dearth ; want ; famine. 
The grounde was vntylled and vnsowen, whereof ensued 
great scarsytie and hunger, and after hunger ensued deth. 
Fabyan, t'hron., Ixxv. 
But all in vaine ; I sate vp late & rose early, contended 
with the colde, and conuersed with scarcilie. 
Nashe, Pierce Penilesse, p. 5. 
They have in all these parts a great scarcity of fuel ; so 
that they commonly use either the reeds of Indian wheat 
or cow dung. Pococke, Description of the East, I. 123. 
Root Of scarcity, or scarcity-root, mangel-wurzel. 
= Syn. 2. Scarcity, Dearth, Famine. Scarcity of the neces- 
sities of life is not so severe a? dearth, nor dearth so severe 
as famine. Primarily, dearth is a scarcity that is felt in 
high prices, and famine such scarcity that people have to 
go hungry ; but both are generally stronger than their 
derivation would suggest, famine often standing for ex- 
scarecrow 
treme difficulty in getting anything whatever to support 
life. 
Scarcity and want shall shun you ; 
Ceres' blessing so is on you. 
Shale., Tempest, iv. 1. 116. 
There happen'd an extraordinary dearth in England, 
corne bearing an excessive price. 
Evelyn, Diary, p. 9 (1631). 
Come not back again to suffer, 
Where the Famine and the Fever 
Wear the heart and waste the body. 
Longfellow, Hiawatha, xx. 
scarcrowt, n. An obsolete spelling of scare- 
crow^. 
scard (skard), . A dialectal form of shard 1 . 
Scardafella (skar-da-fel'a), . [NL. (Bona- 
parte, 1854), < It. scardafeila.'] An American 
genus of Columbidee, containing ground-doves 
Scaly Ground-dove (Scarda/ella squamosa). 
of small size with cuneate tail and scaly plu- 
mage, as S. inca or S. squamosa ; the scale-doves. 
Scare 1 (skar), a. [So. also skair, scar, skar, 
scaur, ME. scar, sker, < Icel. skjarr, shy, timid.] 
Timid; shying. [Now only Scotch.] 
The skerre horse. Ancren Biwlc, p. 242, note. 
Scare 1 (skar), v. ; pret. and pp. scared, ppr. scar- 
Mis'. [Formerly also skare, So. skair ; Sc. also 
scar, skar, E. and U. S. dial, skear, skeer; < ME. 
scarrcn, skerren, skeren, frighten, < scar, sker, 
scared, timid: see scare 1 , a.] I. trans. To 
frighten ; terrify suddenly ; strike with sudden 
terror or fear. 
This Ascatus with skathe skerrit of his rewme 
Pelleus, with pouer. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 13404. 
The noise of thy cross-bow 
Will scare the herd, and so my shoot is lost. 
Shale., 3 Hen. VI., iii. 1. 7. 
I can hardly think there was ever any scared into heaven. 
Sir T. Browne, Keligio Medici, i. 62. 
"Wasn't the Rabbit scared, Uncle Remus?" asked the 
little boy. "Honey, dey ain't bin no wusser skeer 'd beas' 
sence de worril begin dan dish yer same Brer Rabbit." 
J. C. Harris, Uncle Remus, xvi. 
To scare away, to drive away by frightening. To scare 
up. to find; bring to light; discover: as, tocarepmoney. 
[Colloq. ] = Syn. To daunt, appal, frighten; scare repre- 
sents the least of dignity in the act or in the result; it 
generally implies suddenness. 
II. intrans. To become frightened ; be scared : 
as, a horse that scares easily. [Colloq.] 
As a scowte wach [a sentinel] scarred, so the asscry rysed. 
, Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), ii. 838. 
scare 1 (skar), . [<wel,r.] Asuddenfright 
or panic : particularly applied to a sudden ter- 
ror inspired by a trifling cause, or a purely ima- 
ginary or causeless alarm. 
God knows this is only a scare to the Parliament, to make 
them give the more money. Pepys, Diary, Nov. 25, 1664. 
A gunboat is kept at Gibraltar which at the time of scare* 
is directed to keep a lookout on possible enemies' ships 
passing through the Straits. 
Fortnightly Rev. , N. S., XLIII. 2. 
SCare 2 t, n. An obsolete form of sca-2, 
scare 3 (skar), a. [Perhaps due to scarce, earlier 
scarse, in like sense (the terminal -se taken for 
the plural suffix ?). Cf. scar// 2 .] Lean; scanty; 
scraggy. [Prov. Eng.] 
scarebabe (skar'bab), n. [< scare 1 , v., + obj. 
6o6e.] Something to frighten a babe ; a bug- 
bear. Grose. [Kare.] 
scarebugt (skar 'bug), n. [Also scarfing; < 
scare 1 , v., + bugl.] Anything terrifying ; a bug- 
bear. See lug 1 . 
Yet remembering that these compliments, without the 
substance, are but empty gulls and scarebutjs of majesty, 
the sophistry of government, as one calls them, and, as 
Zechariah the prophet saith. the instruments of a foolish 
governor. Rev. S. Ward, Sermons, p. 119. 
scarecrow 1 (skar'kro), n. [Early mod. E. also 
scarcrojr, skarcrowe; < scare 1 , v., + obj. crow 2 .] 
1. A figure of straw or clouts, made in gro- 
tesque semblance of a man, set in a grain-field 
or a garden to frighten off crows and other birds 
from the crops; hence, anything set up or in- 
