Etymograph

English

starve

Starve comes from Middle English sterven ‘to die, perish’, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terp- ‘to lose strength, become numb, be motionless’, and ultimately from *ster- ‘stiff’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ster-‘stiff’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)terp-‘to lose strength, become numb, be motionless’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sterbaną‘to become stiff, die’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sterban‘to die’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150steorfan‘to die, perish’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sterven‘to die, perish’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1591starve

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ster-‘stiff’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)terp-‘to lose strength, become numb, be motionless’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sterbaną‘to become stiff, die’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sterban‘to die’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150steorfan‘to die, perish’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sterven‘to die, perish’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1591starve

Earliest quotation: 1591, Edmund Spenser, Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.: “Ah (ſaid the Ape as ſighing vvondrous ſad) /…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ster- ‘stiff’

still, street, start, strength, stronger, strongly, strongest, straw, stern, cholesterol, stereo, throttle, torpedo, sterile, stare, strenuous, sterility, 17 more

Today it means

verb To die because of lack of food or of not eating.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ster- / starve

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