What does scantle mean?
Scantle is an uncommon, chiefly archaic verb meaning to make something scarce or to reduce it in quantity or extent. In older English, it could describe the deliberate curtailment of provisions, funds, or another resource: a quartermaster might scantle a ration, or a committee might scantle a proposed budget. The word is not normally used in contemporary conversation, and its present-participle form, scantling, can appear to modern readers as a separate noun. Its value is largely historical and literary, offering a compact way to characterize the act of making something less plentiful. Because scantle survives mainly in dictionaries and older texts, it should be used with care; an understandable synonym such as reduce, curtail, or diminish will usually be clearer in modern prose. Even so, the verb preserves a distinctly old-fashioned register and can lend precision or color when deliberately chosen for an archaic or formal effect.
verbTo make something scarce or to reduce it in quantity or extent. The verb is now chiefly confined to older English and dictionary records.
- To make scarce; to reduce in quantity or extent.
"The quartermaster scantled the ration, issuing less food to each company."
"The quartermaster scantled the ration, issuing less food to each company."
"The publisher scantled the print order after demand had fallen."
Scantle is the old-fashioned opposite of stocking up: it means making a supply less abundant.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does scantle come from?
Scantle belongs to the English scant family and is generally understood as a formation on scant with an added -le element. It appeared in earlier English in the sense of making a supply smaller or scarcer, but the verb is now chiefly archaic and survives mainly in dictionaries and older texts.
Related word forms
How scantle is actually used
Chiefly archaic and rare in standard English; it is not normally used in contemporary speech. In modern prose, words such as reduce, diminish, or curtail are generally clearer.