Word Origins: Ravenous: was borrowed from Old French ravineux, a - TopicsExpress



          

Word Origins: Ravenous: was borrowed from Old French ravineux, a derivative of the verb raviner ‘seize by force’ (source of English raven, which nowadays appears mainly in its present participial form ravening). This came from Latin rapere ‘seize by force’, ancestor also of English rape. The central modern meaning of ravenous, ‘very hungry’, developed from the notion of predatory animals that ‘seize’ and eat their prey. Other English descendants of Latin rapere include rapacious, rapid, rapture, ravage, ravine, ravish [13], surreptitious, and usurp.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 14:28:27 +0000

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