GC: n

S: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/famine (last access: 3 September 2014); http://eur-lex.europa.eu/budget/data/AP2005_VOL0/EN/Vol0_en.pdf (last access: 12 March 2013); DORLAND.

N: 1. mid-14c., from Old French famine “hunger” (12c.), from Vulgar Latin famina, from Latin fames “hunger, starvation, famine,” of unknown origin.
2. Famine refers to an episode of starvation that is attended by sharply increased mortality rates and marked disruptions in community life. Its duration exceeds short-term starvation. Unlike seasonal starvation it does not occur annually. Unlike short-term and seasonal starvation, famine lacks a routine character. It disrupts society from the start and it can progress to the point of massive institutional collapses.
3. Collocations:

• Adj.: great, severe, terrible | widespread | imminent, impending.
• Verb + famine: face, suffer | cause, produce | relieve.
• Famine + verb: strike.
• Famine + noun: relief | victim.
• Prep.: during a/the famine .
• Phrases: a threat of famine.

4. Cultural Interrelation: We can mention, among many others, that the Great Famine (Ireland) was caused by a devastating potato disease. 33% of the Irish population relied on the potato for sustenance, and the onset of the disease in 1845 triggered mass starvations that lasted until 1853.

S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=famine&searchmode=none (last access: 3 September 2014). 2. http://www.academia.edu/306691/Starvation_and_Famine_Cross-Cultural_Codes_and_Some_Hypothesis_Tests (last access: 15 September 2015). 3. http://oxforddictionary.so8848.com/search?word=famine (last access: 30 May 2015). 4. http://listverse.com/2013/04/10/10-terrible-famines-in-history/ (last access: 30 May 2015).

SYN:
S:

CR: acute undernutrition, cachexia, chronic hunger, food supply, hunger, inanition, kwashiorkor, malnutrition, marasmus, undernourishment, undernutrition.