| famine | General scarcity of food; dearth; a want of provisions; destitution. "Worn with famine." "There was a famine in the land." (Gen. Xxvi. <medicine> 1) Famine fever, typhus fever. Origin: F. Famine, fr. L. Fames hunger; cf. Gr. Want, need, Skr. Hani loss, lack, ha to leave. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
|---|---|
| famine dropsy | Oedema occurring with the hypoproteinaemia of low protein intake occurring as starvation of a large population group. (05 Mar 2000) |
| famine fever | An acute infection characterised by recurrent episodes of pyrexia alternating with asymptomatic intervals of apparent recovery. This condition has worldwide distribution and is caused by spirochetes of the genus borrelia. (12 Dec 1998) |