scant

• IPA^(key): /skænt/

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• Rhymes: -ænt

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”).

scant (comparative scanter, superlative scantest)

1. Very little, very few.

   After his previous escapades, Mary had scant reason to believe John.

2. Not full, large, or plentiful; scarcely sufficient; scanty; meager; not enough.

   a scant allowance of provisions or water; a scant pattern of cloth for a garment

   • (Can we date this quote?) Ridley

     His sermon was scant, in all, a quarter of an hour.

3. Sparing; parsimonious; chary.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare

     Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence.

• (very little, few): few, little, slight
• (rare, scarce): geason

• (very little, few): ample, plenty

• scanty

• scantily

From Middle English scanten, from the adjective (see above).

scant (third-person singular simple present scants, present participle scanting, simple past and past participle scanted)

1. (transitive) To limit in amount or share; to stint.

   to scant someone in provisions; to scant ourselves in the use of necessaries

   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare

     Scant not my cups.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Francis Bacon

     where man hath a great living laid together and where he is scanted

   • (Can we date this quote?) Dryden

     I am scanted in the pleasure of dwelling on your actions.

2. (intransitive) To fail, or become less; to scantle.

   The wind scants.

From Middle English scant, from the adjective (see above).

scant (plural scants)

1. (masonry) A block of stone sawn on two sides down to the bed level.
2. (masonry) A sheet of stone.
3. (wood) A slightly thinner measurement of a standard wood size.

• For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:scant.

From Middle English scant, from the adjective (see above).

scant (not comparable)

1. With difficulty; scarcely; hardly.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Fuller

     So weak that he was scant able to go down the stairs.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)

scant

1. Scarcity; lack.

• can'st, canst, cants, casn't