Think you know a thing or two about our language? Test yourself with this simple quiz about a common word. Which of the following senses of the adjective dear is now considered obsolete: highly valued, beloved; scarce; or expensive? Remember, a sense is considered obsolete when there has been no evidence of its use since 1755.

We'll start off with an easy one: highly valued. We use the highly valued sense of dear whenever we begin a letter with the salutation Dear (as in Dear Mom). And folks who regularly write to dear old Mom know that the beloved sense of dear also remains in vogue.

That leaves us with scarce and expensive. Which of those two senses of dear has scarcely been seen for centuries? Scarce. If that surprises you, consider this: Since things that are expensive are also likely to be scarce, it's easy to mix up the intended meanings. In addition, writers may specifically choose the word dear in order to imply that a high cost is the result of a shortage or scarcity.

Here's a line from George Bernard Shaw that may help you remember dear means "expensive": "Butter is cheap when it is plentiful and dear when it is scarce."