Etymology dictionary. 2014.
sparse´ly — sparse «spahrs», adjective, spars|er, spars|est. 1. thinly scattered; occurring here and there: »The sparse population of the country, sparse hair; ... an unorganised mob thick in one place, sparse in another (Walter Besant). SYNONYM(S): See syn … Useful english dictionary
Sparse — Sparse, a. [Compar. {Sparser}; superl. {Sparsest}.] [L. sparsus, p. p. of spargere to strew, scatter. Cf. {Asperse}, {Disperse}.] 1. Thinly scattered; set or planted here and there; not being dense or close together; as, a sparse population.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
sparse — [spa:s US spa:rs] adj [Date: 1700 1800; : Latin; Origin: sparsus spread out , from the past participle of spargere to scatter ] existing only in small amounts ▪ his sparse brown hair ▪ rural areas with sparse population >sparsely adv ▪ a… … Dictionary of contemporary English
sparse — [ spars ] adjective existing in small amounts, or very spread out: Higher up the mountain, houses became sparse. ╾ sparse|ly adverb: a sparsely populated country … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
sparse — sparse·ly; sparse·ness; sparse; … English syllables
Sparse — Sparse, v. t. [L. sparsus, p. p. of spargere to scatter.] To scatter; to disperse. [Obs.] Spenser. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
sparse — index barren, deficient, infrequent, insufficient, petty, scarce, sporadic Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton … Law dictionary
sparse — *meager, spare, exiguous, scanty, scant, skimpy, scrimpy Analogous words: scattered, dispersed (see SCATTER): sporadic, occasional, infrequent, uncommon: *thin, slim, slender Antonyms: dense Contrasted words: *close, thick, compact … New Dictionary of Synonyms
sparse — [adj] very few and scattered dispersed, exiguous, few and far between, inadequate, infrequent, meager, occasional, poor, rare, scant, scanty, scarce, scrimpy, skimpy, spare, sporadic, thin, uncommon; concepts 762,789 Ant. full, lush, plentiful … New thesaurus
sparse — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ thinly dispersed. DERIVATIVES sparsely adverb sparseness noun sparsity noun. ORIGIN Latin sparsus, from spargere scatter … English terms dictionary
