sparsely-made
|spars-ly-made|
🇺🇸
/ˈspɑrsli meɪd/
🇬🇧
/ˈspɑːsli meɪd/
made thinly or in small numbers
Etymology
'sparsely-made' is a modern English compound formed from the adverb 'sparsely' and the past participle 'made'. 'sparsely' derives from 'sparse' + '-ly', and 'made' is the past participle of 'make'.
'sparsely' comes from adjective 'sparse', which originates from Latin 'sparsus' (past participle of 'spargere' meaning 'to scatter'). 'Made' comes from Old English 'macian' (to make), via Middle English 'maken', becoming modern English 'make/made'. The compound 'sparsely-made' is a descriptive formation in modern English combining these elements.
Initially the roots referred to 'scattered' (from Latin 'spargere') and the action 'to make'. Over time the adjective/adverb 'sparse/sparsely' came to mean 'thinly distributed', and in combination with 'made' it has the current meaning of 'made in a thin, scattered, or limited way'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
made with large gaps, thinly constructed or having parts placed far apart; not densely built.
The sparsely-made fence did little to keep out the wind.
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Adjective 2
produced or manufactured in small numbers or in limited quantity; not mass-produced.
This was a sparsely-made limited edition, with only 100 copies released.
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Last updated: 2025/08/25 08:45