fome

See also: fòme and ƒome

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔme̝/

Noun

fome f (plural fomes)

1. alternative form of fame

References

• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “fame”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

fome

1. alternative form of fom

Etymology 2

Verb

fome

1. alternative form of fomen

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• fame (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese fame, from Latin famēs (“hunger”) (possibly through a Vulgar Latin alternative accusative form Latin *fam(i)ne(m), or more likely a variant nominative form *famen), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰH- (“to disappear”). Compare Galician fame, Spanish hambre (Old Spanish fambre), Catalan fam, French faim, Italian fame and Romanian foame (which likewise underwent an unusual phonetic development, possibly influenced by the unrelated Latin fomes (“tinder”)).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfõ.mi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfõ.mi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfo.me/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔ.mɨ/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: fo‧me

Noun

fome f (plural fomes)

1. (uncountable) hunger (need or compelling desire for food)

   Tenho fome porque não como há três dias.

   I’m hungry because I haven’t eaten in three days.

   (literally, “I have hunger”)

2. (figurative) hunger (any strong desire)

   Synonyms: avidez, sede

   Fome de poder.

   Hunger for power.

3. famine (extreme shortage of food in a region)

   Ocorreram várias fomes na Etiópia.

   Many famines took place in Ethiopia.

Derived terms

• apanhar fome
• cheio de fome
• enganar a fome
• esfomeado
• esfomear
• fome canina
• fome de bola
• fome de lobo
• fomezinha (diminutives)
• fominha (diminutive)
• fominha negra
• fomona (augmentative)
• juntar a fome com a vontade de comer
• matar a fome
• morrer de fome
• morto de fome

Related terms

• faminto

Further reading

• “fome”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “fome”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Perhaps borrowed from Quechua fuma (“slow, heavy”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfome/ [ˈfo.me]
• Rhymes: -ome
• Syllabification: fo‧me

Adjective

fome m or f (masculine and feminine plural fomes)

1. (Chile, colloquial) boring, unfunny, lame, uncool, dull, stale

   Synonyms: aburrido, soso

Further reading

• “fome”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025