Where does “scant” come from?
Scant comes from Middle English scanten, from Old Norse skamt, from Old Norse skammr meaning "short," from Proto-Germanic skammaz, from Proto-Indo-European (s)ḱem-.
scant (English): Very little, very few; Not full, large, or...
Definitions
- Very little, very few; Not full, large, or...
Ancestry of “scant”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | scant | — |
| 2 | Old Norse | skamt | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | skammaz | short; blunt; stunted |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ḱem- | mutilated, hornless; to cover, hide, conceal |
Words derived from “scant”