—adj.
1 (usu. predic.) (esp. of food, money, etc.) insufficient for the demand; scanty.
2 hard to find; rare.
—adv. archaic or literary scarcely.
Phrases and idioms:
make oneself scarce colloq. keep out of the way; surreptitiously disappear.
Derivatives:
scarceness n.
Etymology: ME f. AF & ONF (e)scars, OF eschars f. L excerpere: see EXCERPT
Useful english dictionary. 2012.