Mea"ger, Mea"gre (?), a. [OE. merge, F. maigre, L. macer; akin to D. & G. mager, Icel. magr, and prob. to Gr. long. Cf. Emaciate, Maigre.]
1.
Destitue of, or having little, flesh; lean.
Meager were his looks;
Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.
Shak.
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.
"
Meager soil."
Dryden.
Of secular habits and meager religious belief.
I. Taylor.
His education had been but meager.
Motley.
3. Min.
Dry and harsh to the touch, as chalk.
Syn. -- Thin; lean; lank; gaunt; starved; hungry; poor; emaciated; scanty; barren.
© Webster 1913.
Mea"ger, Mea"gre, v. t.
To make lean.
[Obs.]
© Webster 1913.
Mea"gre (?), n. [F. maigre.] Zool.
A large European sciaenoid fish (Sciaena umbra or S. aquila), having white bloodless flesh. It is valued as a food fish.
[Written also
maigre.]
© Webster 1913.