clem

A farmer clems his livestock during the harsh winter.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To starve: "clem" means to suffer or die from hunger, or to cause someone to suffer from hunger.
   • To be extremely hungry: In dialectal or archaic usage, "clem" can describe a state of severe hunger.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • During the harsh winter, many poor families were left to clem in their homes. (To suffer from starvation.)
  • The prisoners were deliberately clemmed by their captors. (They were starved intentionally.)
  • I'm so hungry I could clem for a week. (Used informally to express extreme hunger.)

Advanced Usage

• "to clem to death": to die from starvation.
  • The stranded sailors feared they would clem to death on the deserted island. (They worried about starving to death.)

Variants and Related Words

• Clemmed (adj): starved or very hungry.

  • The clemmed beggar pleaded for a crust of bread. (The starving beggar begged for food.)

• Clemming (n): the act or state of starving.

  • The clemming of the village was a tragic consequence of the drought. (The starvation of the village.)

Synonyms

• Starve: to suffer or die from lack of food.
• Famish: to suffer extreme hunger.
• Stint: to restrict or limit food supply (often used in older English).

Phrasal Verbs

• Clem up: (rare, dialectal) to tighten or become constrained, often regarding hunger.
  • His stomach clemmed up after days without eating. (His stomach tightened from hunger.)

Related Idioms

• To clem one's guts: (archaic) to starve oneself or another person severely.
  • The miserly landlord would clem his tenants' guts rather than lower the rent. (He would starve them.)

Notes on Usage

• "Clem" is primarily a dialectal or archaic word, most commonly found in British regional English (especially in the North of England and Midlands). It is rarely used in modern standard English, except in historical contexts or rural dialects.