hungry

English Online Dictionary. What means hungry‎? What does hungry mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English hungry, from Old English hungriġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hungrug, from Proto-Germanic *hungrugaz (“hungry”); equivalent to hunger +‎ -y. Cognate with West Frisian hongerich (“hungry”), Dutch hongerig (“hungry”), German hungrig (“hungry”), Swedish hungrig (“hungry”), Icelandic hungraður (“hungry”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/
• Rhymes: -ʌŋɡɹi
• Homophone: Hungary (in some accents)

Adjective

hungry (comparative hungrier, superlative hungriest)

1. Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.

   Synonyms: famished, peckish, starving

2. Causing hunger.

3. (figuratively) Eager, having an avid desire (‘appetite’) for something.
4. Not rich or fertile; poor; barren; starved.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• thirsty
• I am hungry

Middle English

Alternative forms

• (Early ME) hungrig, hunngriȝ, houngrie
• hungrie, hungri, hungre, hungery, hongry, hungury, hungorie, hungrye

Etymology

From Old English hungriġ, from Proto-Germanic *hungragaz; equivalent to hunger +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhunɡriː/, [ˈhuŋɡriː]

Adjective

hungry

1. Hungry or starving; afflicted by hunger or starvation.
2. Voracious; having a great desire or compulsion to eat.
3. Haggard, scrawny; shriveled due to hunger or starvation.
4. (rare) Due to hunger; because of one's appetite.
5. (rare) Desirous; wanting something to a great degree.
6. (rare) Causing or producing hunger.
7. (rare) Of earth; not productive.

Descendants

• English: hungry
• Scots: hungry
• Yola: hungree

References

• “hungrī(e, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-19.

Noun

hungry

1. Those who are hungry, starving, or of little means.

References

• “hungrī(e, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-19.