What part of speech is scarce?

"Scarce" can be multiple parts of speech depending on its context:

* Adjective: Describing a lack of something, meaning something is not plentiful or abundant. Example: "Food was scarce during the famine."

* Adverb: Meaning "barely" or "hardly". Example: "The old man could scarce speak."

It's important to look at the sentence it's used in to determine its specific function.