- Obs. costliness; dearness
- scarcity of food
- any scarcity or lack
Origin of dearth
Middle English derth from dere: see dear and -thThere is a dearth of merchandise at this market.
The convenience store with no healthy, fresh foods is an example of a dearth of produce.
MLA Style
"dearth." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dearth>.
APA Style
dearth. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dearth
Origin of dearth
Middle English derth from dere: see dear and -th
MLA Style
"dearth." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dearth>.
APA Style
dearth. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dearth
noun
Origin of dearth
Middle English derthe from Old English dēorthu costliness from dēore costly ; see dear 1.
MLA Style
"dearth." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dearth>.
APA Style
dearth. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dearth
(plural dearths)
First attested at least as early as the late 1400s, and appearing in Tyndale’s Pentateuch (1530) as well as the Coverdale Bible (1535). From Middle English derþe, probably from Old English *dīerþ, *dīerþu, from Proto-Germanic *diuriþō (“costliness, preciousness, honour”), corresponding to dear + -th. Cognate with West Frisian djoerte (“love, dearness, value, worth”), Dutch duurte (“dearness; scarcity, dearth”), Icelandic dýrð (“honour, glory”).
MLA Style
"dearth." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dearth>.
APA Style
dearth. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dearth