famish

verb

fam·ish ˈfa-mish

famished; famishing; famishes

transitive verb

: to cause to suffer severely from hunger

archaic : to cause to starve to death

intransitive verb

archaic : starve

: to suffer for lack of something necessary

a moment when French poetry in particular was famishing for such invention—

T. S. Eliot

famishment

ˈfa-mish-mənt

noun

Did you know?

Famish likely developed as an alteration of Middle English famen, meaning "to starve." The Middle English word was borrowed from the Anglo-French verb afamer, which etymologists believe came from Vulgar Latin affamare. We say "believe" because, while no written evidence has yet been found for the Vulgar Latin word affamare, it would be the expected source for the Anglo-French verb based on the combination of the Latin prefix ad- ("to" or "toward") and the root noun fames ("hunger"). In contemporary English, the verb famish is still used on occasion, but it is considerably less common than the related adjective famished, which usually means "hungry" or "starving" but can also mean "needy" or "being in want."

Examples of famish in a Sentence

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The migrants pause in the region, famished and nearly half their starting weight, to spend about a month scarfing down crab eggs to power them through the last leg of their journey. —

Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 June 2023 Each household can bring their guy's favorite dish for a menu that is sure to please all famished fathers in attendance. —

Alyssa Longobucco, House Beautiful, 13 May 2023 Beverly and Elliot, both played by Weisz, have just gotten off their shift and are famished; Elliot is seen inhaling her burger under the grim overhead lighting. —

Jennifer Wilson, The New Republic, 8 May 2023 Dear Amy: At the end of an extremely long road trip, my fiancée, her 16-year-old son and I stopped at a noisy sports bar at 9:30 p.m. – famished. —

Amy Dickinson, oregonlive, 22 Apr. 2023 See all Example Sentences for famish