-meager-

{ } a. [ OE. merge, F. maigre, L. macer; akin to D. & G. mager, Icel. magr, and prob. to Gr. makro`s long. Cf. Emaciate, Maigre. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Destitue of, or having little, flesh; lean. [ 1913 Webster ]

Meager were his looks;
Sharp misery had worn him to the bones. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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, meager resources; meager fare. Opposite of ample. [ wns=1 ] [ Narrower terms: exiguous ] [ Narrower terms: hardscrabble, marginal ] [ Narrower terms: measly, miserable, paltry ] “Meager soil.” Dryden.
Syn. -- meagre, meagerly, scanty. [ 1913 Webster ]

Of secular habits and meager religious belief. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

His education had been but meager. Motley. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Min.) Dry and harsh to the touch, as chalk. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. less than a desirable amount; -- of items distributed from a larger supply. [ wns=2 ]
Syn. -- scrimpy, skimpy, skimping. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

Syn. -- Thin; lean; lank; gaunt; starved; hungry; poor; emaciated; scanty; barren. [ 1913 Webster ]