hungry (English)

Where does "hungry" come from?

The word 'hungry' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European *kenk-, meaning to ache or hunger for something. By way of Proto-Germanic and Old English, it developed into the word hungriġ, eventually becoming the modern English adjective through the addition of the suffix -y. Throughout its history, the term has consistently described the physical sensation of needing food, while also expanding to encompass a metaphorical, intense desire for other things.

Full etymology tree

hungry (English), 'Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.'
- compound hunger (Middle English), 'Hungriness; the feeling of being hungry or requiring satiation.'
  - inherited hungor (Old English), 'hunger'
    - inherited *hungr (Proto-West Germanic), 'hunger'
      - inherited *hungruz (Proto-Germanic), 'hunger'
        inherited *kunkr-ú-s (Pre-Proto-Germanic)
        inherited *kn̥k-ró-s (Proto-Indo-European)
        derived *kenk- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to feel hunger'
- suffix -y (Middle English), 'Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by being appended to a noun.'
  - inherited -iġ (Old English), '-y; forms adjectives from nouns and verbs'
    - inherited *-g (Proto-West Germanic), 'Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a sense of being, having, or doing.'
      - inherited *-gaz (Proto-Germanic), '-y; forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a sense of “being, doing, or having”.'
        inherited *-kos (Proto-Indo-European), 'Creates deadjectival and desubstantival adjectives denoting the characteristic of, typical of, pertaining to.'

Direct ancestors

Updated June 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris