dearth
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dearth
- /dɜːθ/ UK
- /dɝθ/ US
- /dɜːf/
Sounds like durf (th-fronting) · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)θ, -ɜː(ɹ)f
Where it comes from
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”).
noun dearths
- A period or condition when food is rare and hence expensive; famine.
- Scarcity; a lack or short supply. I promise you, the effects he writes of succeed unhappily: as of unnaturalness between the child and the parent; death, dearth, dissolutions of ancient amities; divisions in state, menaces and maledictions against king and nobles; needless diffidences, banishment of friends, dissipation of cohorts,
- Dearness; the quality of being rare or costly. Whatsoever doth remaine for money, let Money-mongers, supply when they will. And I referre to Politicians to dispute among themselves whether the dearth of all things which most complaine of doeth proceede from plenty of gold and silver since the late discoveries, or from Monopolies, and combination
verb dearths · dearthing · dearthed
- To cause or produce a scarcity in something.
Translations
Every language
verb period when food is rare
| Español | hambruna |
|---|---|
| Português | fome |
| Français | disette |
| Deutsch | Hungersnot |
| Italiano | carestia |
| Ελληνικά | λιμός limós, πείνα peína |
| Русский | недоста́точность nedostátočnostʹ, недоста́ток nedostátok, нехва́тка nexvátka, го́лод gólod, дефици́т deficít |
| العربية | مَجَاعَة majāʕa |
verb scarcity
| Español | escasez, cortedad, carestía |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 不足 fusoku |
| 中文 | 缺乏 quēfá |
| Português | falta, escassez |
| Français | pénurie |
| Deutsch | Mangel, Knappheit |
| Italiano | scarsità, carenza |
| Ελληνικά | ανεπάρκεια anepárkeia, έλλειψη élleipsi |
| Русский | ску́дность skúdnostʹ, недоста́точность nedostátočnostʹ, недоста́ток nedostátok, нехва́тка nexvátka, дефици́т deficít |
| العربية | قِلَّة qilla, نُدْرَة nudra, نَقْص naqṣ |
Talk about this word "dearth." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dearth. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. dearth. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dearth "dearth." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dearth.Cite this
@misc{dearth_2026,
title = {dearth},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dearth},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
