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scant

(skănt)

adj. scant·er, scant·est

1. Barely sufficient: paid scant attention to the lecture.

2. Falling short of a specific measure: a scant cup of sugar.

3. Inadequately supplied; short: We were scant of breath after the lengthy climb.

tr.v. scant·ed, scant·ing, scants

1. To give an inadequate portion or allowance to: had to scant the older children in order to nourish the newborn.

2. To limit, as in amount or share; stint: Our leisure time is scanted by this demanding job.

3. To deal with or treat inadequately or neglectfully; slight.

[Middle English, from Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr, short.]

scantly adv.

scantness n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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