sparselyadv.
/ˈspɑːsli/ 1.
a. In a sparse manner; not closely or densely; thinly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > fewness > [adverb]
scarcec1300
smallya1513
sparse1725
sparsely1796
slimly1801
tenuously1892
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > [adverb] > here and there at wide intervals
thinc1405
thinlyc1545
sparsim1587
scatteredly1612
sprinklingly1615
sparse1725
sparsely1796
sporadically1852
tenuously1892
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 191 It grows sparsely in the N. England and middle States.
1800 Monthly Mag. 9 237 The paper is sparsely written.
1851 J. P. Nichol Archit. Heavens (ed. 9) 35 Strewn comparatively sparsely through the neighbouring spaces.
1867 S. W. Baker Nile Tributaries (1872) xix. 327 A vast plain sparsely covered with small trees.
b. Thinly with respect to inhabitants.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > [adverb] > here and there at wide intervals > thinly occupied or populated
rarely1523
sparsely1857
1857 F. L. Olmsted Journey through Texas 365 The country is sparsely settled, containing less than one inhabitant to the square mile.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola II. xiii. 144 The hill was sparsely inhabited, and covered chiefly by gardens.
1879 H. George Progress & Poverty (1881) ii. ii. 98 The earth as a whole is yet most sparsely populated.
2. At rare or infrequent intervals of time. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb]
seldom-whenc888
seldomc897
seld-whenc897
seldoma1000
seldc1000
seldom-timec1386
seld-timec1386
seld-whilea1387
seld-where1390
thinc1405
rare?1440
sendle?a1500
daintilya1513
thinlyc1545
rarely1546
once in a moon1547
out-takingly1549
seldomly1549
for once and away1583
sparingly1590
scarce1596
unfrequently1646
unoften1654
infrequently1673
once in a while1765
sporadically1765
sparselya1871
seldom-while1876
(for) once in a way1891
a1871 T. Carlyle Reminisc. (1881) II. 153 In summer we had sparsely visitors, now and then her mother, or my own.
Compounds
With participial adjectives (usually hyphenated), as sparsely-bushed, sparsely-foliaged, sparsely-populated, etc.
ΚΠ
1880 T. A. Spalding Elizabethan Demonol. 129 The sparsely populated country sides.
1882 E. O'Donovan Merv Oasis I. 330 Sparsely-sprinkled gardens..tremble in the mirage.
1895 J. G. Millais Breath from Veldt ix. 203 We all knew the country—a great sparsely-bushed plain.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 587 A clump of gnarled sparsely-foliaged trees.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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adv.1796