Merriam-Webster Word of the Day - Famish

WORD OF THE DAY January 17, 2018

famish    verb | FAM-ish     Definition   1 : to cause to suffer severely from hunger   2 : to suffer for lack of something necessary   Scroll down for more about famish       WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE   Winter Words Quiz   Winter has returned along with cold weather. Wrap yourself in a blanket and challenge yourself with our 14-question quiz about words relating to winter.     PLAY NOW     Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try!  TAKE ME THERE     Plus:   SEE WHAT LOOKUPS ARE TRENDING NOW!         Did You Know?   Famish likely developed as an alteration of Middle English famen, meaning "to starve." The Middle English word was borrowed from the Anglo-French verb afamer, which etymologists believe came from Vulgar Latin affamare. We say "believe" because, while no written evidence has yet been found for the Vulgar Latin word affamare, it would be the expected source for the Anglo-French verb based on the combination of the Latin prefix ad- ("to" or "toward") and the root noun fames ("hunger"). In contemporary English, the verb famish is still used on occasion, but it is considerably less common than the related adjective famished, which usually means "hungry" or "starving" but can also mean "needy" or "being in want."     Examples of FAMISH   "At first Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing. As if long famishing for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents. There was no pause for digestion." — Herman Melville, "Bartleby the Scrivener," 1853   "Eating healthy regularly is more important than famishing to shed a few pounds." — Emily Long, The Daily Vidette: Illinois State University, 23 Aug. 2017   Test Your Vocabulary   Fill in the blanks to complete a word for the practice of eating in small amounts and of chewing one's food thoroughly: F _ e _ c _ _ _ ism.   VIEW THE ANSWER           WORDS AT PLAY     10 Words for 'Snow'   Because 200 seemed like overkill   SEE THE FULL LIST

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