hungry (English)

Where does "hungry" come from?

The English adjective 'hungry' descends from Middle English 'hungry'[1], which came from Old English 'hungriġ'[1][2]. This older form traces back to Proto-West Germanic '*hungrug' and Proto-Germanic '*hungrugaz'[1][3], meaning 'hungry'[1][3]. The Proto-Germanic term was formed from '*hungruz' combined with the suffix '*-gaz'[4]. Further back, the root '*hungruz' connects to the Proto-Indo-European root '*kenk-', meaning 'to hunger' or 'to ache'[7]. Cognates appear across Germanic languages, including West Frisian 'hongerich', Dutch 'hongerig', German 'hungrig', Swedish 'hungrig', and Icelandic 'hungraður'.

Open questions

• The root *kenk- may derive from an earlier root *ken-h₁-, though this theory has been rejected by some scholars as improbable. [5]
• A formal relation between Proto-Germanic *hungruz and Sanskrit kāṅkṣati to desire is difficult despite a strong resemblance. [7]

Full etymology tree

• hungry (English), 'Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.'
  • inherited hungry (Middle English), 'Hungry or starving; needing food:'
    • inherited hungrig (Old English), 'hungry'
      • inherited *hungrug (Proto-West Germanic)
        • inherited *hungrugaz (Proto-Germanic), 'hungry'
          • compound *hungruz (Proto-Germanic), 'hunger'
            • derived *hunhruz (Proto-Germanic), 'alternative form of *hungruz'
              • derived *kunkr-ú-s (pre-Proto-Germanic)
                • derived *kn̥k-ró-s (Proto-Indo-European)
                  • derived *kenk- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to feel hunger'
                    • derived *ken-h₁- (Proto-Indo-European)
                  • affix *-rós (Proto-Indo-European), 'Forms adjectives from Caland system roots.'
          • compound *-gaz (Proto-Germanic), '-y; forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a sense of “being, doing, or having”.'
            • inherited *-kos, *-ḱos (Proto-Indo-European)

Ancestors

• *kenk- (Proto-Indo-European)
• hungry (Middle English)
• hungrig (Old English)
• *hungrugaz (Proto-Germanic)

Cognates and doublets

• hongerig (Dutch)
• hungrig (German)
• hungraður (Icelandic)
• hungrig (Swedish)

Descendants and derived words

• ahungry (English)
• a hungry man is an angry man (English)
• anhungry (English)
• bloodhungry (English)
• cumhungry (English)
• drungry (English)
• go hungry (English)
• hangry (English)
• horngry (English)
• horngry (English)
• hungries (English)
• hungrify (English)

Sources

1. hungry (English) - Wiktionary
2. hungry (Middle English) - Wiktionary
3. hungrig (Old English) - Wiktionary
4. hungrugaz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
5. kenk- (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
6. -gaz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
7. hungruz (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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