I. ˈskant, -aa(ə)nt, -aint noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse skamt, from neuter of skammr short
chiefly dialect : scanty supply : scarcity
II. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr short; akin to Old High German scam short, Latin capon-, capo capon — more at capon
1.
a. dialect : excessively frugal : parsimonious
b. dialect : wisely sparing : not prodigal : chary
from this time be something scanter of your maiden presence — Shakespeare
2.
a. : barely or scarcely sufficient
likely to pay scant attention to proportion or design — Ben Riker
desiccated stalks offer scant browsing to cattle — New York Times Magazine
specifically : lacking a trifle of or not quite coming up to a stated measure
had seen him, three scant months ago — Donn Byrne
a scant chance of one man in ten surviving the torpedoing — English Digest
many insulating boards are cut scant in width and length — P.D.Close
b. : lacking in amplitude or quantity : meager , scanty
amaryllis is tall-stemmed, and has scant foliage — G.M.Fosler
a truly scant black lace underskirt — Lois Long
3.
a. : having a small or insufficient supply
he's fat, and scant of breath — Shakespeare
b. : somewhat wanting or weak in a particular area
this small book … is a good bit too scant in documentation — New Yorker
4. of a wind : having such a direction or force that a sailing ship can barely hold its course even close-hauled
Synonyms: see meager
III. adverb
Etymology: Middle English, from scant (II)
dialect : scarcely , hardly
IV. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: scant (II)
1. : to provide with a meager or inadequate portion, supply, or allowance
shall not allow myself to be circumscribed and scanted of elbowroom — J.R.Lowell
scanted in my allowance — Clara Reeve
2. : to make small, narrow, thin, or meager : reduce the size or quantity of
has not hesitated to expand rather than scant the meaning of the original — Saturday Review (London)
3. : to provide an incomplete supply of : fail to give in full : withhold
to scant one's service was the cardinal sin — V.L.Parrington
4. : to give scant attention to : slight
vitally interdependent aims, and neither can be scanted without the other suffering — Fredson Bowers
a subject scanted in too many grammars — A.F.Hubbell