According to Guinness World Records, the largest collection of coffee pots belongs to Robert Dahl (Germany) and consists of 27,390 coffee pots as of 2 November 2012, in Rövershagen, Germany.
SCARCELY
barely, hardly, just, scarcely, scarce
(adverb) only a very short time before; “we hardly knew them”; “had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open”; “would have scarce arrived before she would have found some excuse to leave”- W.B.Yeats
hardly, scarcely, barely, scarce
(adverb) almost not; “he hardly ever goes fishing”; “he was scarce sixteen years old”; “they scarcely ever used the emergency generator”; “I can hardly hear what she is saying”; “she barely seemed to notice him”; “we were so far back in the theater, we could barely read the subtitles”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adverb
scarcely (comparative more scarcely, superlative most scarcely)
(modal) Probably not.
(modal) Certainly not.
(degree) Almost not at all; by a small margin.
Usage notes
It is grammatically a negative word. It therefore collocates with ever rather than never.
• Compare We scarcely ever eat fish. with We almost never eat fish.
Synonyms
• (degree: by a small margin): barely, hardly
• (barely, almost not or not quite): barely, just, hardly, only just
Source: Wiktionary
Scarce, Scarce"ly, adv.
1. With difficulty; hardly; scantly; barely; but just. With a scarce well-lighted flame. Milton. The eldest scarcely five year was of age. Chaucer. Slowly she sails, and scarcely stems the tides. Dryden. He had scarcely finished, when the laborer arrived who had been sent for my ransom. W. Irwing.
2. Frugally; penuriously. [Obs.] haucer.
SCARCE
Scarce, a. [Compar. Scarcer; superl. Scarcest.] Etym: [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See Carpet, and cf. Excerp.]
1. Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. You tell him silver is scarcer now in England, and therefore risen one fifth in value. Locke. The scarcest of all is a Pescennius Niger on a medallion well preserved. Addison.
2. Scantily supplied (with); deficient (in); -- with of. [Obs.] "A region scarce of prey." Milton.
3. Sparing; frugal; parsimonious; stingy. [Obs.] "Too scarce ne too sparing." Chaucer. To make one's self scarce, to decamp; to depart. [Slang]
Syn.
– Rare; infrequent; deficient. See Rare.
Scarce, Scarce"ly, adv.
1. With difficulty; hardly; scantly; barely; but just. With a scarce well-lighted flame. Milton. The eldest scarcely five year was of age. Chaucer. Slowly she sails, and scarcely stems the tides. Dryden. He had scarcely finished, when the laborer arrived who had been sent for my ransom. W. Irwing.
2. Frugally; penuriously. [Obs.] haucer.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
3 July 2025
SENSE
(noun) the faculty through which the external world is apprehended; “in the dark he had to depend on touch and on his senses of smell and hearing”
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