Question

Read the excerpt below and answer the question.

Some Persons of a desponding Spirit are in great concern about that vast Number of poor People, who are aged, diseased, or maimed, and I have been desired to imploy my thoughts what Course may be taken, to ease the Nation of so grievous an Incumbrance. But I am not in the least pain upon that matter, because it is very well known, that they are every Day dying, and rotting, by cold, and famine, and filth, and vermin, as fast as can be reasonably expected. ("A Modest Proposal")

Based upon the context above, the word famine means _______

Answer 1

Famine means lack of food. Dying of famine is dying of starvation

Answer 2

The word famine means a shortage of food. The excerpt talks about the lack of many things that are essential for a good level of human survival, lack of cleanness lack of health lack of money, lack of energy, lack of life.

When we talk about an extremely poor community that has come to famine, they're literally dying of starvation.