Starve

Starve
Starve Starve (st[aum]rv), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Starved} (st[aum]rvd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Starving}.] [OE. sterven to die, AS. steorfan; akin to D. sterven, G. sterben, OHG. sterban, Icel. starf labor, toil.] 1. To die; to perish. [Obs., except in the sense of perishing with cold or hunger.] --Lydgate. [1913 Webster]

In hot coals he hath himself raked . . . Thus starved this worthy mighty Hercules. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

2. To perish with hunger; to suffer extreme hunger or want; to be very indigent. [1913 Webster]

Sometimes virtue starves, while vice is fed. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

3. To perish or die with cold. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]

Have I seen the naked starve for cold? --Sandys. [1913 Webster]

Starving with cold as well as hunger. --W. Irving. [1913 Webster]

Note: In this sense, still common in England, but rarely used in the United States. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • starve — S3 [sta:v US sta:rv] v [: Old English; Origin: steorfan to die ] 1.) to suffer or die because you do not have enough to eat ▪ Thousands of people will starve if food doesn t reach the city. ▪ pictures of starving children ▪ They ll either die… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Starve — Starve, v. t. 1. To destroy with cold. [Eng.] [1913 Webster] From beds of raging fire, to starve in ice Their soft ethereal warmth. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. To kill with hunger; as, maliciously to starve a man is, in law, murder. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • starve — [ starv ] verb * intransitive to suffer or die because there is not enough food: There are people out there who are starving because of your actions. a. transitive to make someone suffer or die by preventing them from having enough food: They… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • starve — O.E. steorfan to die (pt. stearf, pp. storfen), from P.Gmc. *sterban be stiff (Cf. O.Fris. sterva, Du. sterven, O.H.G. sterban to die, O.N. stjarfi tetanus ), from PIE root *ster stiff, rigid (Cf. Gk …   Etymology dictionary

  • starve — [stärv] vi. starved, starving [ME sterven < OE steorfan, to die, perish, akin to Ger sterben: see START] 1. a) to die from lack of food b) to suffer or become weak from hunger c) Informal to be ravenously hungry …   English World dictionary

  • starve — UK US /stɑːv/ verb [T, often passive] ► if a company, etc. is starved of something necessary or good, it does not receive enough of it: starve sth of sth »His predecessor in the job had starved the business of capital investment. be starved… …   Financial and business terms

  • starve — starve; starve·ling; …   English syllables

  • starve — ► VERB 1) suffer or die from hunger. 2) cause to starve. 3) (be starving or starved) informal feel very hungry. 4) (be starved of or US for) be deprived of. DERIVA …   English terms dictionary

  • starve — v. 1) (D; tr.) to starve into (to starve smb. into submission) 2) (misc.) to starve to death; to starve oneself to death * * * [stɑːv] to starve oneself to death (misc.) to starve to death (D;tr.) to starve into (to starve smb. into submission) …   Combinatory dictionary

  • starve — 01. Many people in North Korea [starved] to death during the famine there. 02. A cockroach can live nine days without its head before it [starves] to death. 03. Apparently, if an insect chews on gum, its jaws will stick together, and it will… …   Grammatical examples in English

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