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starve

(stärv)

v. starved, starv·ing, starves

v.intr.

1. To suffer or die from extreme or prolonged lack of food.

2. Informal To be hungry.

3. To suffer from deprivation: a puppy starving for attention.

4. Archaic To suffer or die from cold.

v.tr.

1. To cause to starve.

2. To force to a specified state by starving: starved the town into submission.

[Middle English sterven, to die, from Old English steorfan; see ster-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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