In Russian folk tales or stories for children you can often find such an expression as “short tail”. What does “scanty” mean and where did such an unusual word come from? The answers to these questions are in the next article.
Origin of the word
The word "scanty", according to one version, comes from the Polish kuc and means "tailless animal". In Russian, in addition to its direct meaning, the word takes on a figurative meaning. Do not confuse with the Bulgarian “kuts” - “lame”, these are completely different words.
Another possible origin is from the root “cus” of the words “bite”, “piece”. Probably, the original word could mean "bitten off."
Definition of the word
The word “scanty” is a relative and high-quality adjective that has several meanings in the Russian language. In the general case, the meaning of the word can be described as “defective due to insufficient length, size or growth”.
Examples of using
Most often in the literal sense, the word "scanty" is used to describe the tail of an animal. In this case, we mean a shortened, chopped off or cropped tail, that is, a “short” tail. This term is even applicable in veterinary medicine. Barnacle - the underdevelopment of the spinal column of a dog or cat, is a malformation for most animals and a characteristic feature of some breeds (for example, a French bulldog for dogs and bobtail for cats).
The animal itself without a tail, with a short or chopped off can also be called scanty: scanty dogs, scanty mongrel, scanty fox.
The use of the word “scanty” in a figurative sense is widespread. In this case, the scope of the epithet increases greatly.
For example, it is appropriate to use an adjective to describe an inappropriately short wardrobe item. In particular, in the literature there are expressions “scanty jacket” or “scanty camisole”.
Sometimes a short man is called a man of short stature, a short man, speaking of him in a dismissive tone - a "scanty" little man.
And finally, the last meaning in the Russian language refers to a story or presentation and is understood as short, meaningless, limited, trimmed, mean, too concise. For example: scum thought, scum phrase.
Synonyms and Antonyms
Depending on the specific meaning of the word “scanty” in the context, the following synonyms are relevant: small, chopped off, stunted, short, short, limited, short-tailed, tailless, inferior, kurguzy, root-tailed, dwarf.
The following adjectives can be examples of words that are opposite in meaning: long-tailed, pompous, fluffy, long, tall, substantial.