paucity
/ˈpɔs.ɪ.ti/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.61 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "But when I had crossed the threshold, I was astonished at the paucity of facts to be gleaned from the inmates themselves."
- "For sheer paucity of railway facilities, probably the record in Great Britain is held by the Scottish county of Nairn, which has about eight miles of railway and two stations—Nairn and Auldearn."
- "This paucity of trains helps to explain why electrification is not planned between Paris and Belfort."
- "Your tax refund might be late, owing to a paucity of number crunchers."
- "I have always argued that despite my opposition to rail privatisation, I should be grateful that John Major won the 1992 election on a platform to sell off the railways, as otherwise my column would have disappeared given the paucity of things to write about."
- "It cannot be denied it [the chameleon] is (if not the moſt of any) a very abſtemious animall, and ſuch as by reaſon of its frigidity, paucity of bloud, and latitancy in the winter (about which time the obſervations are often made) will long ſubſist without a viſible ſuſtentation."
Etymology
From Middle English paucete, paucite, paucyte, partly from Middle French paucité and partly from its etymon, Latin paucitās (“a small number, fewness, scarcity”), from paucus (“few, little”). Related to few.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɔs.ɪ.ti/
- British English: /ˈpɒs.ɪ.ti/