Dearth
/dɜːrθ/noun
A scarcity or lack of something, especially food or other necessities.
Did you know?“Dearth” comes from the same Old English root as “dear,” originally tied to the idea of what is precious, valued, or scarce — a reminder that language once treated absence like a kind of sacred shortage.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*dērþō
“scarcity, dearness, costliness”
Old English
English
dēorþ
“scarcity, famine, lack of food”
Middle English
English
dearth
“famine, scarcity, shortage”
Modern English
English
dearth
“an inadequate supply or lack of something”