Paucity refers to "littleness" in numbers (as in "a paucity of facts") or quantity ("a paucity of common sense"). The word comes from paucus, Latin for "little."
If you had one of those Yugoslav names with a paucity of vowels, you might sprinkle in a few … Calvin Trillin, Time, 22 May 2000For my part, I find increasingly that I miss the simplicity, the almost willful paucity, of the English way of doing things. Bill Bryson, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, 1999This relative paucity of freeloaders and deadbeats means that rookie Americans, as a group, more than pay their way. Jaclyn Fierman, Fortune, 9 Aug. 1993 a paucity of useful answers to the problem of traffic congestion at rush hour
Recent Examples on the WebNathaniel Hackett’s first training camp in Denver was notable for its paucity of hard hits, at least until a joint practice with the Cowboys. Catherine Ho, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Aug. 2022 In many other countries, there is often a paucity of private land for sale because of geography, density or government control. Karen Heller, Washington Post, 16 Aug. 2022 There is, for instance, a paucity of measurements for some of the atmosphere’s outer layers, where the gradual transition to space begins. Leonard David, Scientific American, 29 July 2022 The recent paucity of aid had only reinforced a long-standing sentiment of alienation from Kyiv and from the West. Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 23 July 2022 Experts say the paucity of tests and their high prices undermine efforts in the U.S. to return to normal life. Rachana Pradhan And Hannah Norman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4 Dec. 2021 Boston’s stingy defense and the Heat’s paucity of healthy players and reliable shot-makers kept the Celtics afloat. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 26 May 2022 Until the 1960s, the report notes, the legacy of slavery lived on in the paucity of Black students admitted to Harvard.New York Times, 26 Apr. 2022 That's largely down to a relative paucity of COVID restrictions. David Meyer, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English paucite, from Latin paucitat-, paucitas, from paucus little — more at few