[syn: starved, starving]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
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In hot coals he hath himself raked . . .
Thus starved this worthy mighty Hercules. --Chaucer.
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2. To perish with hunger; to suffer extreme hunger or want;
to be very indigent.
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Sometimes virtue starves, while vice is fed. --Pope.
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3. To perish or die with cold. --Spenser.
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Have I seen the naked starve for cold? --Sandys.
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Starving with cold as well as hunger. --W. Irving.
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Note: In this sense, still common in England, but rarely used
in the United States.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
starving
adj 1: suffering from lack of food [syn: starved, starving]
n 1: the act of depriving of food or subjecting to famine; "the
besiegers used starvation to induce surrender"; "they were
charged with the starvation of children in their care"
[syn: starvation, starving]