Adjective

(er)

Having little flesh; lean; thin.

Poor, deficient or inferior in amount, quality or extent; paltry; scanty; inadequate; unsatisfying.

A meager piece of cake in one bite.

* {{quote-book

, year=1607 , author=Thomas Walkington , title=The Optick Glasse of Humors, or, The touchstone of a golden temperature, or ... , page=54 citation , passage=...that begets many ugly and deformed phantasies in the braine, which being also hot and drie in the second extenuates and makes meager the body extraordinarily, ...}}

* {{quote-book

, year=1637 , author=William Shakespeare , title=The most excellent Historie of the Merchant of Venice: With the extreame crueltie of Shylocke ... , page=E5 citation , passage=Nor none of thee thou pale and common drudge tween man and man: but thou, thou meager lead which rather threatnest then dost promise ought...}}

Adjective

(en adjective)

Miserly; excessively cheap.

The old man died a penurious wretch; eighty-thousand dollars in the mattress and as many holes in the roof.

Not bountiful; thin; scant.

The penurious stew would have been more accurately labelled broth.

Impoverished; wanting for money.

The poor penurious horde, naught in the cooking pot and naught in the belly.