sparse

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sparsus.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /spɑːs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /spɑːɹs/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)s

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

• (having widely spaced intervals): spread out, thin; see also Thesaurus:diffuse
• (meager): insufficient, paltry; see also Thesaurus:inadequate

Derived terms

• sparse array
• sparsely
• sparsen
• sparse table
• sparsification
• sparsity

 

Related terms

• sparge

Translations

having widely spaced intervals

• Afrikaans: yl
• Assamese: তাকৰীয়া (takoria)
• Azerbaijani: seyrək
• Bashkir: һирәк (hirək)
• Belarusian: рэ́дкі (be) (rédki)
• Bulgarian: ря́дък (bg) (rjádǎk)
• Catalan: dispers (ca), espars (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: řídký (cs) m
• Dutch: verspreid (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: hõre
• Finnish: harva (fi)
• French: épars (fr), clairsemé (fr)
• Georgian: მეჩხერი (mečxeri)
• German: spärlich (de)
• Hebrew: דליל m (dalíl)
• Hungarian: ritka (hu), ritkás (hu), szórványos (hu)
• Italian: sparso (it), spargolo
• Macedonian: редок (redok)
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: рѣдъкъ (rědŭkŭ), рије́дак

  Roman: rédak (sh), rijédak (sh)

• Polish: rzadki (pl)
• Portuguese: esparso (pt), disperso (pt)
• Russian: ре́дкий (ru) (rédkij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ре́дак

• Slovak: riedky
• Spanish: disperso (es)
• Swedish: gles (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: рідки́й (ridkýj)

not dense; meager

• Afrikaans: yl
• Assamese: সেৰেঙা (xereṅa)
• Azerbaijani: seyrək
• Bashkir: һирәк (hirək)
• Catalan: clar (ca), escàs (ca)
• Czech: řídký (cs)
• Dutch: schaars (nl),dun (nl),mager (nl)
• Finnish: harva (fi)
• Georgian: მეჩხერი (mečxeri), თხელი (txeli), მწირი (mc̣iri)
• German: spärlich (de), dünn (de)
• Hungarian: gyér (hu)
• Ingrian: harva
• Plautdietsch: denn
• Portuguese: ralo (pt)
• Romanian: rar (ro)
• Russian: ре́дкий (ru) (rédkij)
• Vietnamese: thưa (vi), thưa thớt (vi)

having few nonzero elements

• Russian: разрежённый (ru) (razrežónnyj)

See also

• thin out

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, [Richard Morison], 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

• parses, sarpes, repass, Speras, spaers, Aspers, Serpas, spaser, Spares, prases, Spears, aspers, Arpses, Presas, presas, passer, spears, spares

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

• pressa, spersa

Latin

Participle

sparse

1. vocative masculine singular of sparsus

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsparse]

Verb

sparse

1. third-person singular simple perfect indicative of sparge