All 5 Uses
scarcity
in
Oedipus King of Thebes (translated by: Murray)
(Auto-generated)
- O Oedipus, who holdest in thy hand My city, thou canst see what ages stand At these thine altars; some whose little wing Scarce flieth yet, and some with long living O'erburdened; priests, as I of Zeus am priest, And chosen youths: and wailing hath not ceased Of thousands in the market-place, and by Athena's two-fold temples and the dry Ash of Ismenus' portent-breathing shore.†
Chpt Playscarce = in short supply OR barely or hardly (by a small margin)
- Scarce thy full meaning.†
Chpt Play *
- 'Twas scarce a secret, that, for common men To unravel.†
Chpt Play
- If words were spoken, it was scarce the soul That spoke them: 'twas some sudden burst of wrath.†
Chpt Play
- I scarce can tell them right.†
Chpt Play
Definitions:
-
(1)
(scarcity) shortage (having an amount that is less than desired)
-
(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."