famish

[ fam-ish ]

/ ˈfæm ɪʃ /

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See synonyms for: famish / famished / famishing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object) Archaic.

to suffer or cause to suffer extreme hunger; starve.

to starve to death.

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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

Words nearby famish

family tree, family-tree theory, family values, family way, famine, famish, famished, famotidine, famous, famous last words, famously

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use famish in a sentence

But the tendency to famish us displayed by our Rulers was not calculated to improve the morale of a civilian, or any, army.
The Siege of Kimberley|T. Phelan
Never varlets So triumph'd o'er an old fat man: I was famish'd.
The Plays of Philip Massinger|Philip Massinger
Unless, like the King of Babylon, they were to eat grass in the fashion of beasts, it seemed they must soon famish.
The Path of the King|John Buchan
But, in the interim, she must starve and famish like a white mouse learning to dance.'
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXLV. July, 1844. Vol. LVI.|Various

Domitius therefore by preparing for his defence, and Marsus by seeming determined to famish, both protracted their lives.
The Reign of Tiberius, Out of the First Six Annals of Tacitus|Tacitus

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 forms of famish

famishment, 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

famish

Origin of famish

Words nearby famish

Words related to famish

How to use famish in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for famish

Derived forms of famish

Word Origin for famish