STARVATION

starvation, starving

(noun) the act of depriving of food or subjecting to famine; “the besiegers used starvation to induce surrender”; “they were charged with the starvation of children in their care”

starvation, famishment

(noun) a state of extreme hunger resulting from lack of essential nutrients over a prolonged period

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

starvation (countable and uncountable, plural starvations)

A condition of severe suffering due to a lack of nutrition.

(figurative) Severe shortage of resources.

Source: Wiktionary

Star*va"tion, n.

Definition: The act of starving, or the state of being starved.

Note: This word was first used, according to Horace Walpole, by Henry Dundas, the first Lord Melville, in a speech on American affairs in 1775, which obtained for him the nickname of Starvation Dundas. "Starvation, we are also told, belongs to the class of 'vile compounds' from being a mongrel; as if English were not full of mongrels, and if it would not be in distressing straits without them." Fitzed. Hall.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition