starve

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English sterven, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English steorfan (“to die”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *sterbaną (“to become stiff, die”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *(s)terp- (“to lose strength, become numb, be motionless”); or from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *sterbʰ- (“to become stiff”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“stiff”); or a conflation of the aforementioned. Cognate with Scots sterve (“to die, perish”), Saterland Frisian stjerwa (“to die”), West Frisian stjerre (“to die”), Dutch sterven (“to die”), German Low German starven (“to die”), German sterben (“to die”), Icelandic stirfinn (“peevish, froward”), Albanian shterp (“sterile, unproductive, barren land”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stɑːv/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(r)v

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

starve (third-person singular simple present starves, present participle starving, simple past starved or (obsolete) starf or (obsolete) storve, past participle starved or (obsolete) storven)

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To die; in later use especially to die slowly, waste away.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.i.4:

     noble Britomart / Released her, that else was like to starve, / Through cruell knife that her deare heart did kerue.

2. (intransitive) To die because of lack of food or of not eating.
   • 2007, Lisa Wingate, A Thousand Voices‎, page 76:

     "When all of you starve to death, Shasta, don't come crying to me, that's all."

3. (intransitive) To be very hungry.

   Hey, ma, I'm starving! What's for dinner?

4. (transitive) To destroy, make capitulate or at least make suffer by deprivation, notably of food.
5. (transitive) To deprive of nourishment or of some vital component.

   The uncaring parents starved the child of love.

   The patient's brain was starved of oxygen.

6. (intransitive) To deteriorate for want of any essential thing.
7. (transitive, British, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire) To kill with cold.

   I was half starved waiting out in that wind.

Derived terms

• starvation
• starveling
• starving

Translations

obsolete: to die — see also die

• Finnish: nääntyä
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: ча́хнуть (ru) impf (čáxnutʹ)

to die because of lack of food

• Arabic: مَاتَ جَوْعًا (māta jawʕan)
• Belarusian: галада́ць (haladácʹ)
• Bulgarian: гладувам (bg) (gladuvam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 餓死／饿死 (zh) (èsǐ), 饿死 (zh) (èsǐ)

• Czech: hladovět (cs)
• Dutch: verhongeren (nl), sterven van de honger
• Faroese: svølta
• Finnish: nääntyä (nälkään), nääntyä, kuolla nälkään
• French: mourir de faim
• Galician: esfamear
• German: verhungern (de), Hungers sterben
• Hungarian: éhenhal
• Italian: morire di fame
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 餓死する (ja) (がしする, gashi suru), 飢える (ja) (うえる, ueru)
• Korean: 굶어죽다 (gulmeojukda)
• Polish: głodować (pl)
• Portuguese: morrer de fome
• Romanian: flămânzi (ro), suferi de foame, muri de foame
• Russian: голода́ть (ru) impf (golodátʹ), умира́ть от го́лода impf (umirátʹ ot góloda), умира́ть с го́лоду impf (umirátʹ s gólodu), умира́ть с го́лода impf (umirátʹ s góloda)
• Slovak: hladovať
• Slovene: stradati (sl)
• Spanish: morir de hambre
• Swedish: svälta (sv)
• Telugu: ఆకలిచావు (te) (ākalicāvu)
• Ukrainian: голодува́ти (holoduváty)
• Vietnamese: chết đói

to be very hungry

• Bulgarian: умирам от глад (umiram ot glad)
• Dutch: rammelen (nl), sterven van de honger
• Finnish: kuolla nälkään
• French: mourir de faim (fr), crever de faim, crever la dalle (fr)
• Galician: esfamear
• Greek: πεθαίνω της πείνας (pethaíno tis peínas), ψοφάω της πείνας (psofáo tis peínas)
• Hungarian: éhezik (hu)
• Japanese: 飢える (ja) (うえる, ueru)
• Portuguese: estar (pt) morrendo (pt) de (pt) fome (pt), estar (pt) faminto (pt)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Quechua: yarqay, mallay (qu)
• Romanian: muri de foame
• Russian: проголода́ться (ru) pf (progolodátʹsja), изголода́ться (ru) pf (izgolodátʹsja), умира́ть от го́лода impf (umirátʹ ot góloda), голода́ть (ru) (golodátʹ)
• Swedish: svälta (sv), vara svulten (sv), vara utsvulten (sv)
• Telugu: ఘోరకలి (te) (ghōrakali)
• Vietnamese: đói ngấu, đói meo
• Welsh: llwgu (cy)
• Yakut: аас (aas)

to destroy by deprivation

• Faroese: svølta
• Finnish: näännyttää, nälkiinnyttää
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Swedish: svälta (sv) (ut)

to deprive of nourishment

• Dutch: uithongeren (nl)
• Finnish: näännyttää
• French: affamer (fr)
• Galician: esfamear
• German: verhungern lassen, aushungern (de)
• Hungarian: éheztet
• Japanese: 飢えさせる (uesaseru)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: whakatiki, whakapuango
• Portuguese: esfomear (pt)
• Romanian: înfometa (ro)
• Russian: мори́ть го́лодом impf (morítʹ gólodom)
• Spanish: hambrear (es)
• Swedish: svälta (sv) (ut)
• Telugu: చప్పిడికూడు (cappiḍikūḍu)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} affamer (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} పస్తు (te) (pastu)

Anagrams

• averts, ravest, tarves, traves, vaster, versta