Where does “paucity” come from?

Paucity comes from Middle French paucité, derived from Latin paucitas, formed from the Latin suffix -itas added to a root from Proto-Indo-European ph₁w- and peh₂w-, with the Proto-Indo-European suffix -kos.

paucity (English): Fewness in number; too few; A smallness in size...

Definitions

  1. Fewness in number; too few; A smallness in size...

Ancestry of “paucity”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpaucete—
2Middle Frenchpaucité—
3Latinpaucitasscarcity, paucity
4Latinpaucusfew, little
5Proto-Italicpaukosfew
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂ukos—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂w-few, little; smallness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₂w- →