sparsely

/ˈspɑːsli/SPAHR-slee

/ˈspɑɹsli/SPAHR-slee

Meaningin a sparse way

Common meaning: thinly

sparsto scatter, sprinkleLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1734 · scan
lyadverb ending: in a way

Journey through time

Proto-Indo-European*spark-‘sprinkle, to bespot, to scatter’source
Latinspargō, sparsum‘to scatter, sprinkle’
Englishsparse‘thinly scattered’
Englishformed in English from sparsesparsely‘thinly’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from sparse + -ly.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), SPARSE, p.578 · scan

Roots

spargō, sparsum Latin “to scatter, sprinkle”

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app