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.
© Webster 1913.