Definition of DEARTH

dearth

Plural: dearths

Noun

  • A scarcity or lack of something.
  • an acute insufficiency
  • an insufficient quantity or number
  • A period or condition when food is rare and hence expensive; famine.
  • Scarcity; a lack or short supply.
  • Dearness; the quality of being rare or costly.

Verb

  • To cause or produce a scarcity in something.

Examples

  • A DEARTH of vowels on his rack left him with few playable options.

Origin / Etymology

First attested at least as early as the late 1300s, and appearing in Tyndale’s Pentateuch (1530) as well as the Coverdale Bible (1535). From Middle English derth, derthe, derþe, probably from Old English *dīerþ, *dīerþu, from Proto-West Germanic *diuriþu, from Proto-Germanic *diuriþō (“costliness, preciousness, honour”); corresponding to dear + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Old Saxon diuriða (“glory, honour; preciousness”), West Frisian djoerte (“love, dearness, value, worth”), Dutch duurte (“dearness; scarcity, dearth”), Icelandic dýrð (“honour, glory”).

Scrabble Score: 10

dearth: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
dearth: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
dearth: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

dearth: valid Words With Friends Word