English
devour
Devour comes from Old French devorer ‘to devour’, and goes back to Latin vorō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvorō‘to devour’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvorō‘to swallow, gulp down, or devour’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400devorer‘to devour’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500devouren‘to devour or eat up’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611devour
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvorō‘to devour’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēvorō‘to swallow, gulp down, or devour’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400devorer‘to devour’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500devouren‘to devour or eat up’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611devour
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “If ye refuse[…]ye shall be devoured with the sword.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- ‘to devour’
gorge, quirk, gurgle, ouroboros, 25 more
through Latin vorō ‘to devour’
Today it means
verb To eat quickly, greedily, hungrily, or ravenously.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin vorō / devour