meagre

Etymology 1

From Middle French maigre.

noun

1. Argyrosomus regius, an edible fish of the family Sciaenidae.
   1986, A. Wysokiński, The Living Marine Resources of the Southeast Atlantic, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 178, page 48, Among more valuable species some of them are worth mentioning, especially littoral forms as: meagres and other croakers (Sciaenidae), grunters (Pomadasyidae), threadfins (Polynemidae), groupers (Serranidae), snappers (Lutjanidae) […] .
   It is striking that these represent meagres (Argyrosomus regius), a species never mentioned in classical texts. 2008, Arturo Morales-Muñes, Eufrasia Roselló-Izquierdo, “11: Twenty Thousand Years of Fishing in the Strait”, in Torben C. Rick, Jon M. Erlandson, editors, Human Impacts on Ancient Marine Ecosystems: A Global Perspective, page 261
   Meagres (Argyrosomus regius, 230 cm, 103 kg) have been raised mainly in Spain, France and Italy. 2011, John S. Lucas, Paul C. Southgate, Aquaculture: Farming Aquatic Animals and Plants, unnumbered page

Etymology 2

From Middle English megre, borrowed from Anglo-Norman megre, Old French maigre, from Latin macer, macrum, from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂ḱrós. Cognate with Old English mæġer (“meagre, lean”), Dutch mager (“lean”), German mager (“lean”), Icelandic magur (“lean”).

adj

1. Having little flesh; lean; thin.
2. Deficient or inferior in amount, quality or extent
   Nothing will grow in this meagre soil.
   He was given a meagre piece of cake that he swallowed in one bite.
   His education had been but meagre. 1871, John Lothrop Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic: A History, volume 1, page 144
   It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the present rail passenger service is meagre and between Wetherby and Church Fenton almost non-existent. 1961 February, D. Bertram, “The lines to Wetherby and their traffic”, in Trains Illustrated, page 103
   Until the recent rash of North London line maps appeared on station billboards in the London area of BR, the service undoubtedly suffered from meagre and ineffectual publicity. 1964 July, “News and Comment: The Broad Street-Richmond line”, in Modern Railways, page 17
3. (set theory) Of a set: such that, considered as a subset of a (usually larger) topological space, it is in a precise sense small or negligible.
4. (mineralogy) Dry and harsh to the touch (e.g., as chalk).

verb

1. (transitive) To make lean.
   I am meagred to a skeleton; my nose is broiled to flaming heat, and I am suffering the greatest inconvenience from the loss of my baggage which I fear the enemy have taken with my servant at Konigsberg. 1862, Robert Thomas Wilson, edited by Herbert Randolph, Life of General Sir Robert Wilson, page 275