What is the Latin word for hunger?

The usual Latin words for “hunger” are famēs, inedia, ēsuriō; also Caelius, ēsurītiō, urgeō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“hunger” in Latin

famēshunger inediafasting, starvation ēsuriōto be hungry, to hunger for something CaeliusLucius Coelius Antipater, a Roman jurist and historian; Marcus Caelius Rufus, a Roman politician and orator ēsurītiōhunger, hungering urgeōto press, push, force, drive, urge (forward); to stimulate; to weigh down, burden, oppress; to crowd, hem in, confine ūrōto burn, consume, inflame; especially of the emotions: to inflame with passion, love or lust; burn, set afire or on fire

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

hunger

fames: inedia (abstinence from food): esuries (rare; caelius, in Cic., Fam., 8, 1; esuritio, also rare). To feel hunger, esurire: to be suffering from hunger, fame laborare: to be dying of hunger; to be tormented by hunger, fame premi, or urgeri, or uri: to be dying of hunger, fame enecari: to die of hunger (litterally), fame mori, perire, absumi, consumi, connci: to appease one’s hunger, famem explere or expellere (propulsare, poetically): to be dying of hunger (figuratively), fame enecari. (Prov.) Hunger is the best sauce, cibi condimentum fames est (Cic.): malum panem tenerum tibi et siligineum fames reddet (Sen., Ep., 123, 2).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for hunger?: The usual Latin words for “hunger” are famēs, inedia, ēsuriō; also Caelius, ēsurītiō, urgeō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.