What is the Latin word for scarceness, scarcity?

The usual Latin words for “scarceness, scarcity” are angustĭae, paucitās, ōrō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“scarceness, scarcity” in Latin

angustĭaesing paucitāsscarcity, paucity ōrōto orate, deliver a speech publicly; to plead, beg, pray, entreat

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

scarceness, scarcity

angustiae (e.g., rei frumentariae, rei familiaris): paucitas (e.g., oratorum). A time of scarceness, annus sterilis. This year was a time of great scarceness, hoc anno frumentum angustius provenit (Caes., B.G. 5, 24): scarcity of money, argentaria inopia (Plaut.); difficultas nummaria (Terentianus); difficultas rei nummariae (Cic.).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for scarceness, scarcity?: The usual Latin words for “scarceness, scarcity” are angustĭae, paucitās, ōrō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.