Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Sparse \Sparse\, a. [Compar. {Sparser}; superl. {Sparsest}.] [L.
   sparsus, p. p. of spargere to strew, scatter. Cf. {Asperse},
   {Disperse}.]
   1. Thinly scattered; set or planted here and there; not being
      dense or close together; as, a sparse population.
      --Carlyle.

   2. (Bot.) Placed irregularly and distantly; scattered; --
      applied to branches, leaves, peduncles, and the like.