What is starving?

What Does starving Mean

Famélico , from the Latin famelĭcus , is an adjective that refers to someone hungry or very thin (with the appearance, therefore, of going hungry). For example: "In a country as rich as this there should be no starving children" , "A starving old man approached the king begging for a piece of bread" , "We adopted a starving puppy during the trip and now it has become a dog healthy ” .

Generally, starving is used as a superlative adjective to express the maximum degree of hunger or starvation suffered by a person or an animal . This state is reached when the subject does not have access to an appropriate diet, either due to lack of food or due to the consumption of substances that suppress the appetite.

Throughout the history of Literature there have been a multitude of characters with all kinds of characteristics that clearly identify them from the rest. In this case, it must be emphasized that in the books there have also been some who were characterized by their famished appearance. Among them, without a doubt, Rocinante, the horse of the famous Don Quixote de la Mancha, has stood out.
Also in the cinema there have also been characters identified by that quality. This would be the case of Trevor Reznik, played by Christian Bale, from the movie "The Machinist", who is a man who has suffered insomnia for a year and whose body has begun to manifest this problem through extreme thinness.
However, more recently, the character of "Dallas Buyers Club" that has earned Matthew McConaughey an Oscar in 2014 also stands out for his famished appearance: Ron Woodroof, a cowboy who is diagnosed with AIDS and that to avoid dying begins to take an illegal drug.
A man can also be starving of his own free will when he goes on a hunger strike . In such cases, the individual refuses to eat in protest, which can make them famished if their complaint goes unanswered and if they decide to go on strike.
When referring to the maximum degree of starvation, the concept of starvation goes beyond physical appearance or thinness. The malnutrition generates all kinds of complications in the organs and capabilities; therefore, someone who is starving may have trouble even concentrating or getting around.
When the term is used in a more symbolic way, famished can refer to someone very thin or the feeling of having a great appetite : "You can tell that you are doing a lot of physical activity, you are famished" , "Is it long before dinner? I'm starving .
In addition to all the above, we would have to emphasize that there is what is known as theft of a famished person. This is a term that is used to refer to the theft that, without any type of violence, is carried out by a man or a woman with the clear objective of obtaining a series of essential items for himself or for the sustenance of his loved ones. dear.