famish

[ fam-ish ]

/ ˈfæm ɪʃ /

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verb (used with or without object) Archaic.

to suffer or cause to suffer extreme hunger; starve.

to starve to death.

RELATED WORDS

abstain, forbear, diet, refrain, starve

Nearby words

Origin of famish

1350–1400; Middle English famisshe, equivalent to famen to starve (< Anglo-French, Middle French afamer < Vulgar Latin *affamāre, equivalent to Latin af- af- + famāre, derivative of famēs hunger) + -isshe -ish²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for famish

In many places it strives to famish them, or takes delight in annoying them.
The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 2 (of 6)|Hippolyte A. Taine
Rag lets Famish accompany him to Tattersall's, and sells him bargains in horse-flesh, and uses Famish's cab.
The Book of Snobs|William Makepeace Thackeray
"I lack some bread to give to those that famish, and I'll pay for that which I receive," was her reply.
The Three Perils of Man, Vol. 3 (of 3)|James Hogg
Already languishing from sheer fatigue, must she now famish also?
A Gentleman Player|Robert Neilson Stephens

Never varlets So triumph'd o'er an old fat man: I was famish'd.
The Plays of Philip Massinger|Philip Massinger

British Dictionary definitions for famish

famish

/ (ˈfæmɪʃ) /

verb

(now usually passive) to be or make very hungry or weak

archaic to die or cause to die from starvation

Irish to make very coldI was famished with the cold

Derived Formsfamishment, noun

Word Origin for famish

C14: from Old French afamer, via Vulgar Latin, from Latin famēs famine

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for famish

famish

c.1400, famyschen, alteration of famen (late 14c.), a shortening of Old French afamer, from Vulgar Latin *affamare "to bring to hunger," from ad famem, from Latin fames "hunger" (see famine).

Ending changed mid-14c. to -ish under influence of ravish, anguish, etc. The intransitive sense is from 1520s. Related: Famished; famishing.