Hunger is the feeling or condition of needing food. Die of hunger, hunger pangs, a hunger for justice.
The world grows enough food for everybody and hunger persists because of poverty and war rather than shortage. A hunger strike is refusal of food as protest. Figuratively it means a strong desire — a hunger for recognition.
1nounhungerThe feeling or condition of needing food.
“After a day without food, the hunger kept him awake all night.”
2nounstrongA strong desire for something.
“Her hunger for success kept her working late every night.”
hunger is a need.
Old English hungor names the feeling, from a Germanic root.
Middle English
hunger
English, today
hunger
Built from
From Middle English hunger. From Middle English hunger, from Old English hungor (“hunger, desire; famine”), from Proto-West Germanic hungr, from Proto-Germanic hungruz, hunhruz (“hunger”), from Proto-Indo-European kenk- (“to burn, smart, desire, hunger, thirst”). Cognate with West Frisian honger, hûnger (“hunger”), Dutch honger (“hunger”), German Low German Hunger (“hunger”), German Hunger (“hunger”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish hunger (“hunger”), Faroese and Icelandic hungur (“hunger”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA