Starve (stärv), v. i. [imp. & p. p.Starved (stärvd); p. pr. & vb. n.Starving.] [OE. sterven to die, AS. steorfan; akin to D. sterven, G. sterben, OHG. sterban, Icel. starf labor, toil.] 1. To die; to perish. Lydgate.
In hot coals he hath himself raked...
Thus starved this worthy mighty Hercules. Chaucer.
2. To perish with hunger; to suffer extreme hunger or want; to be very indigent.
Sometimes virtue starves, while vice is fed. Pope.
3. To perish or die with cold. Spenser.
Have I seen the naked starve for cold? Sandys.
Starving with cold as well as hunger. W. Irving.
☞ In this sense, still common in England, but rarely used in the United States.