Meager
Meager , adjective
[Old English merge, French maigre, Latin macer; akin to Dutch & German mager, Icelandic magr, and prob. to Greek makro`s long. Compare Emaciate, Maigre.]
1.
Destitute of, or having little, flesh; lean.
Meager were his looks;
Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.
2.
Destitute of richness, fertility, strength, or the like; defective in quantity, or poor in quality; poor; barren; scanty in ideas; wanting strength of diction or affluence of imagery; as, meager resources; meager fare. Opposite of ample.
Meager soil.
Of secular habits and meager religious belief.
His education had been but meager.
3.
(Mineralogy) Dry and harsh to the touch, as chalk.
4.
less than a desirable amount; -- of items distributed from a larger supply.
Also: Meagre
Meager , transitive verb
To make lean. [Obsolete]
Also: Meagre