Adjective: meagre
Comparison Forms
Synthetic
| Comparative | meagrer |
| Superlative | meagrest |
Perifrastic
Sample Sentences
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[…]meagre were his looks; / Sharp misery had worn him to the bones: [c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:]
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Nothing will grow in this meagre soil.
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He was given a meagre piece of cake that he swallowed in one bite.
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His education had been but meagre. [1871, John Lothrop Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic: A History, volume 1, page 144:]
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It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the present rail passenger service is meagre and between Wetherby and Church Fenton almost non-existent. [1961 February, D. Bertram, “The lines to Wetherby and their traffic”, in Trains Illustrated, page 103:]
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Until the recent rash of North London line maps appeared on station billboards in the London area of BR, the service undoubtedly suffered from meagre and ineffectual publicity. [1964 July, “News and Comment: The Broad Street-Richmond line”, in Modern Railways, page 17:]
Adjectives inflected like meagre
scarce,
smoove,
sombre,
wholsome,
sheene,
bolshie,
baroque,
concrete,
seveare,
comf'table,
shrewde,
'umble,
grislie,
unsubtle,
ungentle,
indiscrete,
couthie,
chavvie,
lissome,
cutesie, etc. (List truncated at 20 adjectives)
Etymology
From Middle English megre, borrowed from Anglo-Norman megre, Old French maigre, from Latin macer, macrum, from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂ḱrós. Cognate with Old English mæġer (“meagre, lean”), Dutch mager (“lean”), German mager (“lean”), Icelandic magur (“lean”). See: Latin Adjectives '
macer', Dutch Adjectives '
mager', German Adjectives '
mager'.
Verbs referencing "meagre"
German Adjectives
mager.