To find the meaning of the term meager, it is necessary to proceed to know, first of all, what its etymological origin is. In this case, we can determine that it comes from Latin, exactly from “exiguus”, which can be translated as “scarce” or “reduced” and that it emanates from the verb “exigere”, which is the result of the sum of two clearly defined lexical components:
-The prefix “ex-”, which means “outwards”.
-The verb “agere”, which is equivalent to “act” or “move”, for example.
Exiguous is an adjective that is used to describe that which is scarce, small or sparse . The meager, therefore, is little and sometimes it is not even enough.
For example: “The budget we have to organize the festival is meager, but we will do everything possible so that all residents can enjoy the event” , “The value of the fee is meager” , “The official candidate won the elections with “a slight difference.”
Insufficient, insignificant, short or reduced are other synonyms that the word in question has. On the contrary, among its antonyms we find terms such as generous, abundant, broad, large...
Qualifying something as meager is a subjective assessment. Take the case of electricity service rates . For a user who receives a salary of 50,000 pesos , a bill of 1,000 pesos per month for electrical service may be meager. On the other hand, to someone who earns just 4,000 pesos , the same amount will not seem meager, but quite the opposite.
The meager is usually considered in a certain framework or context . Drinking a glass of wine may involve minimal alcohol consumption if the intake occurs at a dinner, for example. On the other hand, if a person drinks that same glass of wine but every half hour and throughout the day, consumption will be excessive and not meager.
Everything that can be measured or measured in some way can be considered meager. A student may complain about the “meager time” a teacher gave him to prepare a lesson, while a tourist may be upset about the “meager breakfast” he was served at a hotel . A longer deadline for the student and a more abundant meal for the traveler would have changed the grade.
In the same way, we cannot ignore the existence of a historical figure whose nickname was Exiguo. We are referring to Dionysius (460 – 525), a mathematician and monk who was born in Scythia Minor and who has gone down in history, among other things, for having been the creator of the so-called Anno Domini calculus.
The nickname "El Exiguo" appears documented in some of the first writings he carried out and is reflected at the beginning of some of them. Little else is known about him except that he arrived in Rome around the year 500 and that he made the first collections of canon law while also writing a treatise on mathematics.