Scarce

Scarce

Adjective · /skɛːs/ · insufficient in quantity relative to demand; not easily found

Definition

Scarce means available in quantities that are less than what is needed or desired. When a resource is scarce, there is not enough of it to go around — whether that resource is water, food, money, skilled workers, or time. The word implies real insufficiency, not just rarity. Something rare might be deliberately limited; something scarce is specifically in short supply relative to the demand for it. Scarce is a foundational concept in economics, ecology, and everyday life.

Origin

Scarce comes from Old Northern French escars, meaning restricted or scanty, which itself derived from Late Latin excarpsus — meaning plucked out, selected, or extracted. The Latin root is related to excerpere, meaning to excerpt or pick out. The idea was of something selected or extracted in limited amounts. The word entered Middle English around the thirteenth century. Its use in economic writing — particularly in the sense of limited supply relative to demand — became dominant from the seventeenth century onwards.