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exiguous

[ig-zig-yoo-uh s, ik-sig-]
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adjective
  1. scanty; meager; small; slender: exiguous income.

Origin of exiguous

1645–55; < Latin exiguus scanty in measure or number, small, equivalent to exig(ere) (see exigent) + -uus deverbal adj. suffix
Related formsex·i·gu·i·ty [ek-si-gyoo-i-tee] /ˌɛk sɪˈgyu ɪ ti/, ex·ig·u·ous·ness, nounex·ig·u·ous·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for exiguity

Historical Examples

  • He would rank with Wolfe; indeed, considering the exiguity of his means, his feat would surpass that of Wolfe.

    The Bastonnais

    John Lesperance

  • The strong sonorous voice of the layman was in singular contrast with the exiguity of his thin, stunted frame.

  • No lean-jowled, hungry-looking devotees, living in exiguity and droning in exinanition their prayers,––not by any means.

    The Book of Khalid

    Ameen Rihani

British Dictionary definitions for exiguity

exiguous

adjective
  1. scanty or slender; meagrean exiguous income
Derived Formsexiguity (ˌɛksɪˈɡjuːɪtɪ) or exiguousness, nounexiguously, adverb

Word Origin

C17: from Latin exiguus, from exigere to weigh out; see exigent
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for exiguity

exiguous

adj.

"scanty," 1650s, from Latin exiguus "small, petty, paltry, scanty in measure or number," from exigere (see exact).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper