Dearth Definition
dûrth
noun
Costliness; dearness.
Webster's New World
Any scarcity or lack.
Webster's New World
Scarcity of food.
Webster's New World
1660, Church of England, “In the time of dearth and famine.”, in The Book of Common Prayer, page 21.
O God,heavenly Father, whose gift it is that the rain doth fall, the earth is fruitfull, beasts increase, and fishes do multiply: behold, we beseech thee, the afflictions of thy people, and grant that the scarcity and dearth (which we do now most justly suffer for our iniquitie) may through thy goodness be mercifully turned into cheapness and plenty…
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Other Word Forms of Dearth
Noun
Singular:
dearthPlural:
dearthsOrigin of Dearth
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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”).
From Wiktionary
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Middle English derthe from Old English dēorthu costliness from dēore costly dear1
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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