scant
adjective
- spare in quality or quantity
verb
- to cut short, skimp
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /skænt/ / /skant/ / /skæːnt/
adj
Etymology: Adjective and determiner from Middle English scant, from Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr (“short”), from Proto-Germanic *skammaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱem- (“mutilated, hornless”). Verb from Middle English scanten, from the adjective. Noun and adverb from Middle English scant, from the adjective.
- Not full, large, or plentiful; scarcely sufficient; scanty; meager.
“a scant allowance of provisions or water; a scant pattern of cloth for a garment”
“His sermon was scant, in all, a quarter of an hour.”
- Sparing; parsimonious; chary.
“Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence.”
- Slightly diminished; just short of the amount described.
“a scant cup of sugar”
adv
Etymology: Adjective and determiner from Middle English scant, from Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr (“short”), from Proto-Germanic *skammaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱem- (“mutilated, hornless”). Verb from Middle English scanten, from the adjective. Noun and adverb from Middle English scant, from the adjective.
- With difficulty; scarcely; hardly.
“[A]ske a Stoicke vvhich Philoſophy is true, he vvil preferre his ovvne. Then aske him vvhich approacheth next the truth, he vvill confeſſe the Academiques. So deale vvith the Epicure, that vvill ſcant indure the Stoicke to be in ſight of him, ſo ſoone as he hath placed himſelfe, he vvill place the Academiques next him.”
“So weak that he was scant able to go down the stairs.”
det
Etymology: Adjective and determiner from Middle English scant, from Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr (“short”), from Proto-Germanic *skammaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱem- (“mutilated, hornless”). Verb from Middle English scanten, from the adjective. Noun and adverb from Middle English scant, from the adjective.
- Very little, very few.
“After his previous escapades, Mary had scant reason to believe John.”
“(as pronoun) The failure of this project has scant to do with me.”
noun
Etymology: Adjective and determiner from Middle English scant, from Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr (“short”), from Proto-Germanic *skammaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱem- (“mutilated, hornless”). Verb from Middle English scanten, from the adjective. Noun and adverb from Middle English scant, from the adjective.
- A small piece or quantity.
“A blonde appeared from the officers' room, wearing a scant of material that passed for issued undergarments.”
- Scarcity; lack.
“As soon as the corpse was placed on the pile, and some prayers muttered by the attendant Bramin, fire was set to it at one of the corners, and the wood being dry, and in great quantity, it soon blazed up and consumed the body to ashes, without any noisome smell, such as however does not unfrequently happen if there is a scant of wood, or rain intervenes to damp it.”
“I was greatly surprised, however, in this very fertile and abundant country, to find so great a scant of provisions in the inns.”
- A block of stone sawn on two sides down to the bed level.
- A sheet of stone.
- A slightly thinner measurement of a standard wood size.
verb
Etymology: Adjective and determiner from Middle English scant, from Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr (“short”), from Proto-Germanic *skammaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱem- (“mutilated, hornless”). Verb from Middle English scanten, from the adjective. Noun and adverb from Middle English scant, from the adjective.
- To limit in amount or share; to stint.
“to scant someone in provisions; to scant ourselves in the use of necessaries”
“Scant not my cups.”
- To fail, or become less; to scantle.
“The wind scants.”