sparse

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English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sparsus.

Pronunciation

Adjective

sparse (comparative sparser, superlative sparsest)

  1. Having widely spaced intervals.
    a sparse array, index, or matrix
    • 2019 October, Tony Miles, Philip Sherratt, “EMR kicks off new era”, in Modern Railways, page 58:
      The Leicester to Grimsby service will become hourly throughout (with some extensions to Cleethorpes as at present), while a new hourly Peterborough to Doncaster service via Spalding, Sleaford and Lincoln will join up two routes with a sparse service at present.
  2. Not dense; meager; scanty
  3. (mathematics) Having few nonzero elements

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Verb

sparse (third-person singular simple present sparses, present participle sparsing, simple past and past participle sparsed)

  1. (obsolete) To disperse, to scatter.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:disperse
    • 1536, , A Remedy for Sedition, London: Thomae Bertheleti , →OCLC, signature F. i.:
      They began properly to ſparſe pretye rumours in the North, that no man ſhulde eate whyte breade, no man eate pygge, gooſe, or capon, without he agreed before with the kynge.

Anagrams

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈspar.se/
  • Rhymes: -arse
  • Hyphenation: spàr‧se

Etymology 1

Verb

sparse

  1. third-person singular past historic of spargere

Etymology 2

Verb

sparse

  1. third-person singular past historic of sparire

Etymology 3

Participle

sparse f pl

  1. feminine plural of sparso

Anagrams

Latin

Participle

sparse

  1. vocative masculine singular of sparsus

Romanian

Pronunciation

Verb

sparse

  1. third-person singular simple perfect indicative of sparge
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