paucity

[paw-si-tee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR paucity ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness: a country with a paucity of resources.

smallness or insufficiency of number; fewness.

Origin of paucity

1375–1425; late Middle English paucite < Latin paucitās fewness, derivative of paucus few; see -ity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for paucity

smallness, insufficiency, dearth, paltriness, scantiness, rarity, famine, deficiency, absence, shortage, meagerness, poverty, fewness, sparseness, slenderness, sparsity

Examples from the Web for paucity

Contemporary Examples of paucity

Part of that lies in the paucity of documentation of what the Vikings actually did during their raids.
How the Vikings Saved Europe and Got a Terrible Reputation
William O’Connor
September 17, 2014
Moreover, the long moratorium has resulted in a paucity of qualified experts to research firearm injuries.
Pediatricians Take on the NRA Over Gun Safety
Brandy Zadrozny
May 15, 2014
Poor health care, a paucity of jobs, and a sense of instability is now taking its toll.
One Year Later, Libya’s Long Road Continues
Jamie Dettmer
October 22, 2012
The paucity of women in STEM is not just a problem for New York.
Twitter Invests in Young Women with ‘Girls Who Code’
Allison Yarrow
June 26, 2012
A former studio chief agrees that the paucity of stars under 30 is a serious problem for the studios.
Is He Sabotaging His Career?
Kim Masters
March 9, 2010

Historical Examples of paucity

So they went bobbing about in a tub, and we, with a like paucity of equipment, essayed to follow them.
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown
It seemed to her that never before had there been such a paucity of monarchists.
The Martian Cabal
Roman Frederick Starzl
We can complain of no lack of plot or paucity of incidents in His Heart's Desire.
Lippincott's Magazine, December 1878
Various
In spite of this paucity of clothing, there was not the least immodesty in their bearing.
Celebrated Travels and Travellers
Jules Verne
For some reason or other there is a paucity of woodpeckers on the Nilgiris.
Birds of the Indian Hills
Douglas Dewar

British Dictionary definitions for paucity

paucity

noun

smallness of quantity; insufficiency; dearth

smallness of number; fewness

Word Origin for paucity

C15: from Latin paucitās scarcity, from paucus few

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 paucity

late 14c., from Old French paucité (14c.) and directly from Latin paucitatem (nominative paucitas) "fewness, scarcity, a small number," from paucus "few, little," from PIE *pau-ko-, from root *pau- (1) "few, little" (cf. Latin paullus "little;" Old English feawe "few;" see few (adj.)).