dearth
pronunciation
How to pronounce dearth in British English:
UK [dɜːθ]
How to pronounce dearth in American English:
US [dɜːrθ]
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- Noun:
- an acute insufficiency
- an insufficient quantity or number
Word Origin
- dearth (n.)
- mid-13c., derthe "scarcity" (originally used of famines, when food was costly because scarce; extended to other situations of scarcity from early 14c.), abstract noun formed from root of Old English deore "precious, costly" (see dear) + abstract noun suffix -th (2). Common Germanic formation, though not always with the same sense (cognates: Old Saxon diurtha "splendor, glory, love," Middle Dutch dierte, Dutch duurte, Old High German tiurida "glory").
Example
- 1. Farmers have long griped about a dearth of competition .
- 2. The kindle fire could also help all android tablets solve their biggest problem : a dearth of tablet-specific apps .
- 3. That certainly suggests a dearth of workers .
- 4. A dearth of screens is partly to blame .
- 5. One reason is a dearth of offshore yuan funds in hong kong .