sparse - Definitions from Dictionary.com

8 results for: sparse

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

sparse

–adjective, spars·er, spars·est.

1.	thinly scattered or distributed: a sparse population.

2.	not thick or dense; thin: sparse hair.

3.	scanty; meager.

[Origin: 1715–25; < L sparsus, ptp. of spargere to scatter, sparge

]

—Related forms

sparsely, adverb

sparseness, spar·si·ty

Audio Help [spahr-si-tee] Pronunciation Key, noun

—Synonyms 1–3. See scanty.

—Antonyms 1–3. abundant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
sparse

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

sparse Audio Help (spärs) Pronunciation Key
adj. spars·er, spars·est
Occurring, growing, or settled at widely spaced intervals; not thick or dense.

[Latin sparsus, past participle of spargere, to scatter.]

sparse'ly adv., sparse'ness, spar'si·ty (spär'sĭ-tē) n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sparse

1727, from L. sparsus "scattered," pp. of spargere "to scatter, spread," from PIE base *(s)pregh- "to jerk, scatter" (cf. Skt. parjanya- "rain, rain god," Avestan fra-sparega "branch, twig," lit. "that which is jerked off a tree," O.N. freknur "freckles," Swed. dial. sprygg "brisk, active," Lith. sprogti "shoot, bud," O.Ir. arg "a drop").

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

sparse
adjective
not dense; "a thin beard"; "trees were sparse"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sparse [spaːs] adjective

thinly scattered
Example: sparse vegetation

Arabic:	مُتَفَرِّق، مُتَناثِر
Chinese (Simplified):	稀少的
Chinese (Traditional):	稀少的
Czech:	řídký
Danish:	sparsom; spredt
Dutch:	dun
Estonian:	harv
Finnish:	harva
French:	clairsemé
German:	spärlich
Greek:	αραιός
Hungarian:	szórványos
Icelandic:	dreifður, strjáll
Indonesian:	jarang
Italian:	rado

Japanese:	まばらな
Korean:	성긴, 드문드문한
Latvian:	rets; trūcīgs
Lithuanian:	retas, skurdus
Norwegian:	glissen, spredt
Polish:	rzadki, skąpy, ubogi
Portuguese (Brazil):	esparso
Portuguese (Portugal):	ralo
Romanian:	rar
Russian:	редкий; скудный
Slovak:	riedky, zriedkavý
Slovenian:	redko posejan
Spanish:	escaso
Swedish:	gles
Turkish:	seyrek

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

sparse
A sparse matrix (or vector, or array) is one in which most of the elements are zero. If storage space is more important than access speed, it may be preferable to store a sparse matrix as a list of (index, value) pairs or use some kind of hash scheme or associative memory.
(1995-01-16)

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sparse

As*perse"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Aspersed; p. pr. & vb. n. Aspersing.] [L. aspersus, p. p. of aspergere to scatter, sprinkle; ad + spargere to strew. See Sparse.]

1. To sprinkle, as water or dust, upon anybody or anything, or to besprinkle any one with a liquid or with dust. --Heywood.

2. To bespatter with foul reports or false and injurious charges; to tarnish in point of reputation or good name; to slander or calumniate; as, to asperse a poet or his writings; to asperse a man's character.

With blackest crimes aspersed. --Cowper.

Syn: To slander; defame; detract from; calumniate; vilify.

Usage: To Asperse, Defame, Slander, Calumniate. These words have in common the idea of falsely assailing the character of another. To asperse is figuratively to cast upon a character hitherto unsullied the imputation of blemishes or faults which render it offensive or loathsome. To defame is to detract from a man's honor and reputation by charges calculated to load him with infamy. Slander (etymologically the same as scandal) and calumniate, from the Latin, have in common the sense of circulating reports to a man's injury from unworthy or malicious motives. Men asperse their neighbors by malignant insinuations; they defame by advancing charges to blacken or sully their fair fame; they slander or calumniate by spreading injurious reports which are false, or by magnifying slight faults into serious errors or crimes.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sparse

Dis*perse"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dispersed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dispersing.] [L. dispersus, p. p. of dispergere to strew, scatter. See Sparse.]

1. To scatter abroad; to drive to different parts; to distribute; to diffuse; to spread; as, the Jews are dispersed among all nations.

The lips of the wise disperse knowledge. --Prov. xv. 7.

Two lions, in the still, dark night, A herd of beeves disperse. --Cowper.

2. To scatter, so as to cause to vanish; to dissipate; as, to disperse vapors.

Dispersed are the glories. --Shak.

Syn: To scatter; dissipate; dispel; spread; diffuse; distribute; deal out; disseminate.

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