Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FAM'INE, n. [Fr. famine, from faim; L. fames; It. fame; Sp. fame or hambre; Port. fome.]

1. Scarcity of food; dearth; a general want of provisions sufficient for the inhabitants of a country or besieged place. Famines are less frequent than formerly. A due attention to agriculture tends to prevent famine, and commerce secures a country from its destructive effects. There was a famine in the land. Gen. xxvi.
2. Want; destitution; as, a famine of the word of life.