Scrannel

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing something thin, meagre or poor in quality, especially a sparse or wretched growth of plants or a scanty supply
2. Characterizing a thing that is scanty, puny and inadequate, often used of a feeble or sickly looking plant or creature
3. Meagre, stunted and of inferior quality, such as a thin crop or a skimpy, miserable portion of something

Etymology: "Scrannel" is an adjective meaning thin, meagre, or feeble, used especially of sounds, such as a thin, shrill pipe or a weak voice. Its closest relative is "scrawny," which describes something lean or bony, and the two share the same sense of skimpy, under-nourished thinness. Scrannel is the older-sounding of the pair in literary use, and it survives mainly in poetry and dialect-flavoured prose, where its harsh consonants suit a thin, grating noise.

Synonyms: meagre, thin, scanty, scrawny

Antonyms: plump, lush