meager

Mea"ger, Mea"gre, a. Etym: [OE. merge, F. maigre, L. macer; akin to D. & G. mager, Icel. magr, and prob. to Gr. Emaciate, Maigre.] 1. Destitue of, or having little, flesh; lean. Meager were his looks; Sharp misery had worn him to the bones. Shak. 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. "Meager soil." Dryden. Of secular habits and meager religious belief. I. Taylor. His education had been but meager. Motley. 3. (Min.) Defn: Dry and harsh to the touch, as chalk. Syn. -- Thin; lean; lank; gaunt; starved; hungry; poor; emaciated; scanty; barren. Mea"ger, Mea"gre, v. t. Defn: To make lean. [Obs.]

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