entry
voracity
/vəˈræsɪti/greedy, ravenous appetite; gluttony
From Latin vor (to devour).
from Latin vorācitās (whence -acity)
from French voracité (14c.) or directly
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin vorācitās (whence -acity)
from French voracité (14c.) or directly
+1 more sourceThis is one of those words that sounds as hungry as it means. Latin had vorare, “to devour,” and out of that came vorax, the sort of adjective you’d give to a beast with its jaws permanently open. Medieval French turned it into voracité, and English borrowed the whole dramatic package, as if a monkish scribe had looked up from dinner and thought, yes, we need a word for that second helping and then some. It’s kin to voracious, which is the flashier adjective, while voracity is the noun that names the appetite itself. The image is almost comic: a mouth, a stomach, and no brakes. If hunger had a Roman passport, this would be its most polished stamp.
The Story
This is one of those words that sounds as hungry as it means. Latin had vorare, “to devour,” and out of that came vorax, the sort of adjective you’d give to a beast with its jaws permanently open. Medieval French turned it into voracité, and English borrowed the whole dramatic package, as if a monkish scribe had looked up from dinner and thought, yes, we need a word for that second helping and then some. It’s kin to voracious, which is the flashier adjective, while voracity is the noun that names the appetite itself. The image is almost comic: a mouth, a stomach, and no brakes. If hunger had a Roman passport, this would be its most polished stamp.
Kin & Kindred
From 'vor'·to devour, swallow greedily
Derived Terms
English words from this root