starve

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | 486 words | Copyright

starve †die OE.; die of hunger; cause to die of hunger, cold, etc. XVI. OE. str. vb. steorfan = OS. sterƀan (Du. sterven), OHG. sterban (G. sterben) :- WGmc. *sterban, perh orig. ‘be rigid’ and thus rel. to ON. stjarft tetanus, stirfinn obstinate, starf effort; outside Gmc., cf. Olr. ussarb (:- *udsterbhā) death; extension of the base *ster- be rigid (cf. STARE). The orig. str. forms of the pt. became obs. XV. of the pp. XVI.
Hence starvation XVIII.

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T. F. HOAD. "starve." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "starve." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-starve.html

T. F. HOAD. "starve." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-starve.html

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