ravenousyoudaoicibaDictYouDict[ravenous 词源字典]
ravenous: [15] Ravenous was borrowed from Old French ravineux, a derivative of the verb raviner ‘seize by force’ (source of English raven, which nowadays appears mainly in its present participial form ravening). This came from Latin rapere ‘seize by force’, ancestor also of English rape. The central modern meaning of ravenous, ‘very hungry’, developed from the notion of predatory animals that ‘seize’ and eat their prey. Other English descendants of Latin rapere include rapacious, rapid, rapture, ravage, ravine, ravish [13], surreptitious, and usurp.
=> rape, rapture, raven[ravenous etymology, ravenous origin, 英语词源]
ravenous (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
late 14c., "obsessed with plundering, extremely greedy," from Old French ravinos, of people, "rapacious, violent," of water, "swift-flowing," from raviner "to seize," from ravine "violent rush, robbery" (see ravine). Meaning "voracious, very hungry" is from early 15c. Related: Ravenously; ravenousness.