adj. & adv.
--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