meagre

meagre
\ \ [14] Meagre originally meant literally ‘thin’ (it goes back via Anglo-Norman megre and Old French maigre to Latin macerthin’, source also of English emaciate [17]). Not until the 16th century did the modern figurative sense ‘scanty’ begin to emerge. (Its distant Indo- European ancestor, incidentally, *makró-, also produced a parallel Germanic form magerthin’, shared by German, Dutch, Swedish, and Danish.)
\ \ Cf.EMACIATE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • meagre — mea‧gre [ˈmiːgə ǁ ər] , meager adjective very small in amount: • Sales rose a meager 2.5% in January. • The chairman predicts very meagre growth this year. * * * meagre UK US UK (US meager) /ˈmiːgər/ adjective …   Financial and business terms

  • Meagre — Mea gre, n. [F. maigre.] (Zo[ o]l.) A large European sci[ae]noid fish ({Sci[ae]na umbra} or {Sci[ae]na aquila}), having white bloodless flesh. It is valued as a food fish. [Written also {maigre}.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • meagre — British English spelling of MEAGER (Cf. meager) (q.v.); for spelling, see RE (Cf. re) …   Etymology dictionary

  • meagre — is spelt this way in BrE, and usually meager in AmE …   Modern English usage

  • meagre — (US meager) ► ADJECTIVE 1) lacking in quantity or quality. 2) lean; thin. DERIVATIVES meagreness noun. ORIGIN Old French maigre, from Latin macer …   English terms dictionary

  • meagre — mea|gre BrE meager AmE [ˈmi:gə US ər] adj [Date: 1300 1400; : French; Origin: maigre, from Latin macer thin ] a meagre amount of food, money etc is too small and is much less than you need ▪ a meagre diet of bread and beans meagre… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Meagre — Meager Mea ger, Meagre Mea gre, a. [OE. merge, F. maigre, L. macer; akin to D. & G. mager, Icel. magr, and prob. to Gr. makro s long. Cf. {Emaciate}, {Maigre}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Destitue of, or having little, flesh; lean. [1913 Webster] Meager… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • meagre — [[t]mi͟ːgə(r)[/t]] ADJ GRADED (disapproval) If you describe an amount or quantity of something as meagre, you are critical of it because it is very small or not enough. The bank s staff were already angered by a meagre 3.1% pay rise... Their food …   English dictionary

  • meagre — BrE, meager AmE adjective a meagre amount of food, money etc is too small and is much less than you need: meagre wages | a meager diet meagrely adverb meagreness noun (U) …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • Meagre — Meager Mea ger, Meagre Mea gre, v. t. To make lean. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Meagre — Adlerfisch Adlerfisch (Argyrosomus regius) Systematik Teilklasse: Echte Knochenfische (Teleostei) Ordnung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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