Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Meagre
{
, Mea′ger
,Mea′gre
}Adj.
1.
Destitue of, or having little, flesh; lean.
Meager
were his looks;Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.
Shakespeare
2.
Destitute of richness, fertility, strength, or the like; defective in quantity, or poor in quality; poor; barren; scanty in ideas; wanting strength of diction or affluence of imagery;
as,
. Opposite of meager
resources; meager
fareample
. [wns=1]
[Narrower terms: exiguous
] [Narrower terms: hardscrabble, marginal
] [Narrower terms: measly, miserable, paltry
] “Meager soil.” Dryden.
Syn. – meagre, meagerly, scanty.
Of secular habits and
meager
religious belief. I. Taylor.
His education had been but
meager
. Motley.
3.
(Min.)
Dry and harsh to the touch, as chalk.
Syn. – Thin; lean; lank; gaunt; starved; hungry; poor; emaciated; scanty; barren.
{
, Mea′ger
,Mea′gre
}Verb.
T.
To make lean.
[Obs.]
Mea′gre
,Noun.
[F.
maigre
.] (Zool.)
A large European sciaenoid fish (
Sciaena umbra
or Sciaena aquila
), having white bloodless flesh. It is valued as a food fish. [Written also
maigre
.] Definition 2024
meagre
meagre
English
Noun
meagre (plural meagres)
- Argyrosomus regius, an edible fish of the family Sciaenidae.
- 1986, A. Wysokiński, The Living Marine Resources of the Southeast Atlantic, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 178, page 48,
- Among more valuable species some of them are worth mentioning, especially littoral forms as: meagres and other croakers (Sciaenidae), grunters (Pomadasyidae), threadfins (Polynemidae), groupers (Serranidae), snappers (Lutjanidae) […] .
- 2008, Arturo Morales-Muñes, Eufrasia Roselló-Izquierdo, 11: Twenty Thousand Years of Fishing in the Strait, Torben C. Rick, Jon M. Erlandson (editors), Human Impacts on Ancient Marine Ecosystems: A Global Perspective, page 261,
- It is striking that these represent meagres (Argyrosomus regius), a species never mentioned in classical texts.
- 2011, John S. Lucas, Paul C. Southgate, Aquaculture: Farming Aquatic Animals and Plants, unnumbered page,
- Meagres (Argyrosomus regius, 230 cm, 103 kg) have been raised mainly in Spain, France and Italy.
- 1986, A. Wysokiński, The Living Marine Resources of the Southeast Atlantic, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 178, page 48,
Synonyms
- (Argyrosomus regius): salmon-basse, shade-fish, stone basse
Hypernyms
Derived terms
Translations
Argyrosomus regius
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External links
- Argyrosomus regius on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Argyrosomus regius on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
- Argyrosomus regius on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
Etymology 2
From Middle English megre, from Anglo-Norman megre, Old French maigre, from Latin macer, from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂ḱros. Cognate with Old English mæġer (“meagre, lean”), Dutch mager (“lean”), German mager (“lean”), Icelandic magur (“lean”)..
Alternative forms
- meager (US)
Adjective
meagre (comparative meagrer, superlative meagrest)
- Having little flesh; lean; thin.
- Nothing will grow in this meagre soil.
- He was given meagre piece of cake that he swallowed in one bite.
- 1597, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Scene 1, 1843, William Shakespeare, Samuel Weller Singer (notes), Charles Symmons (life), The Dramatic Works and Poems, Volume 2, page 462,
- […] meagre were his looks; / Sharp misery had worn him to the bones:
- Deficient or inferior in amount, quality or extent; paltry; scanty; inadequate; unsatisfying.
- 1871, John Lothrop Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic: A History, Volume 1, page 144,
- His education had been but meagre.
- 1871, John Lothrop Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic: A History, Volume 1, page 144,
- (set theory) Of a set: such that, considered as a subset of a (usually larger) topological space, it is in a precise sense small or negligible.
- (mineralogy) Dry and harsh to the touch (e.g., as chalk).
Translations
Having little flesh; lean; thin.
Deficient or inferior in amount, quality or extent; paltry; scanty; inadequate; unsatisfying
Derived terms
Verb
meagre (third-person singular simple present meagres, present participle meagring, simple past and past participle meagred)
- (transitive) To make lean.
- 1862, Robert Thomas Wilson, Herbert Randolph (editor), Life of General Sir Robert Wilson, page 275,
- I am meagred to a skeleton; my nose is broiled to flaming heat, and I am suffering the greatest inconvenience from the loss of my baggage which I fear the enemy have taken with my servant at Konigsberg.
- 1862, Robert Thomas Wilson, Herbert Randolph (editor), Life of General Sir Robert Wilson, page 275,