De-fī'cient, a.
(de-fish'ent), a. [Lat. deficiens, p. pr. of deficere, to be wanting. See DEFECT.]
Sense 1. Wanting to make up completeness; not sufficient; inadequate; defective; imperfect; as, deficient estate; deficient strength.
The style was indeed deficient in ease and variety. Macaulay.
Sense 2. Lacking a full or adequate supply; short; as, deficient in means of carrying on war.
Deficient numbers (Arith.), those numbers whose aliquot parts, added together, make less than the integer whose parts they are; as 8, because 4+2+1 make less than this number.