Today's Word

Paucity

PAW-sih-tee

Definition

(noun) The presence of something in only small or insufficient quantities or amounts; scarcity.

Example

The paucity of evidence made it impossible to reach a definitive conclusion about the case.

Word Origin

Late Middle English: from Old French “paucite” or Latin “paucitas,” from “paucus” meaning “few.”

Fun Fact

Paucity sounds more sophisticated than “lack” or “shortage,” making it perfect for formal contexts where you want to sound measured while pointing out insufficiency. Academic reviewers love deploying paucity to criticize thin research: “The paucity of sources undermines this argument.” The word specifically suggests not just absence but frustratingly inadequate presence—enough to notice what’s missing. Economic reports describe paucity of jobs, scientific papers note paucity of data, and social critics identify paucity of imagination. Unlike “scarcity,” which can be neutral, paucity carries implicit criticism—when something exists in paucity, there should be more. It’s the verbal equivalent of gesturing at empty shelves while looking disappointed.

Previous Words

Lachrymose

Today's Word

Lachrymose

LAK-rih-mohs

Definition

(adjective) Tending to cry easily or frequently; having a mournful or tearful quality that evokes sadness.

Example

The lachrymose eulogy left barely a dry eye in the room, not because it was maudlin but because every word of it was simply and devastatingly true.

Word Origin

Lachrymose derives from the Latin lacrima, meaning “tear,” which itself traces back to the Greek dakryma. The same root gives us lachrymal — the medical term for the tear ducts and glands responsible for producing tears — making lachrymose one of the rare words that bridges everyday emotion and clinical anatomy in a single syllable. It entered English in the 17th century, used initially in literary and poetic contexts to describe writing or music with an overwhelming quality of sadness.

Fun Fact

The ancient Romans took tears seriously enough to collect them. Small glass vessels called lacrimatoria — tear bottles — were placed in tombs alongside the deceased, believed to contain the tears of mourners as a final gift to the dead. Archaeologists have recovered thousands of these small bottles across the former Roman Empire, their presence in burial sites considered evidence of genuine grief rather than ritual obligation. The practice was so widespread and so culturally significant that it gave the Latin word for tears — lacrima — an enduring presence in the language, eventually producing both the medical terminology for your tear ducts and the word you’d use to describe a particularly devastating film.

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Paucity

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Lachrymose

Lachrymose

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Lachrymose

Jejune

Temerity

Morass

Obstreperous