famish

fam·ish | \ ˈfa-mish

How to pronounce famish (audio)

\

famished; famishing; famishes

Definition of famish

transitive verb

1 : to cause to suffer severely from hunger

2 archaic : to cause to starve to death

intransitive verb

1 archaic : starve

2 : to suffer for lack of something necessary a moment when French poetry in particular was famishing for such invention— T. S. Eliot

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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 rare occasions, 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

Recent Examples on the Web Or that his pan-religious message of love and godliness is embraced by the spiritually famished. — John Anderson, WSJ, "‘Messiah’ Review: What Is His Mission?," 31 Dec. 2019 Y’all might be famished, but Joe stays fat these days. — Joseph Goodman, al, "Oregon, Ohio State on upset watch; Georgia vulnerable," 21 Nov. 2019 Afterward, both of us were famished but neither wanted to cook. — Alejandro Varela, Harper's magazine, "Carlitos in Charge," 16 Sep. 2019 When someone is famished, even five minutes can seem interminable. — Dear Abby, oregonlive.com, "Dear Abby: Stay-at-home mom angry, frustrated after breadwinner husband loses his job," 24 Aug. 2019 For years, researchers have seen mice and rats perform well on cognitive tests when famished. — Mark Barna, Discover Magazine, "Not So Fast," 24 Sep. 2018 The boys were famished and weak when they were found, having lost an average of more than four pounds each. — John Bacon, ajc, "WATCH: Video shows rescued Thai soccer players flashing victory sign from hospital beds," 12 July 2018 After all that intense activity, my kids would be famished. — Charlotte Hilton Andersen, Redbook, "Parenting Challenge: How Do You Get Through the Vending Machine Gauntlet?," 15 Jan. 2012 The boys were famished and weak when they were found, having lost an average of more than four pounds each. — John Bacon, ajc, "WATCH: Video shows rescued Thai soccer players flashing victory sign from hospital beds," 12 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'famish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Famish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/famish. Accessed 5 Jun. 2020.

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