All 3 Uses
scarcity
in
The Comedy of Errors
(Auto-generated)
- Beshrew his hand, I scarce could understand it.†
Scene 2.1 *scarce = in short supply OR barely or hardly (by a small margin)
- Nay, he struck so plainly I could too well feel his blows; and withal so doubtfully that I could scarce understand them.†
Scene 2.1
- O, Signior Balthazar, either at flesh or fish, A table full of welcome makes scarce one dainty dish.†
Scene 3.1
Definitions:
-
(1)
(scarcity) shortage (having an amount that is less than desired)
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(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) More rarely (and typically in classic literature), scarce can be short for scarcely or hardly or barely or by a small margin -- such as in "She was scarce ten years old," or "I scarce know why."