2. Fondness; preciousness; love; tenderness.

The dearness of friendship.

Bacon.

Dearth (?), n. [OE. derthe, fr. dere. See Dear.] Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine.

There came a dearth over all the land of Egypt.

Acts vii. 11.

He with her press'd, she faint with dearth.

Shak.

Dearth of plot, and narrowness of imagination.

Dryden.

De`ar*tic"u*late (?), v. t. To disjoint.

Dear"worth` (?), a. [See Derworth.] Precious. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section D and E · 第 165 / 2785 题