Paucity

 WORD OF THE DAY

paucity / noun / PAW-suh-tee

Definition

1a: smallness of number

1b: fewness

2a: smallness of quantity 

2b: dearth

Examples

"... sparse transit service and a paucity of bicycle lanes often leave automobiles as the only, not necessarily the preferred, transportation option." — David Zipper, The Daily Herald (Everett, Washington), 25 Oct. 2021

For my part, I find increasingly that I miss the simplicity, the almost willful paucity, of the English way of doing things.

— Bill Bryson, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, 1999

Did You Know?

Here's a little information about paucity: the word was first recorded in English in the 15th century, and it comes to us from the Latin paucitas ("smallness of number"), which is derived from the adjective paucus ("little"). 

The word's origin informs its use; paucity can be used to refer to a littleness of numbers (as in "a paucity of facts/studies") or quantity ("a paucity of evidence"), or one can use paucity when speaking of abstract concepts, as in "a paucity of experience/knowledge."