Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Famine \Fam"ine\, n. [F. famine, fr. L. fames hunger; cf. Gr.
   ????? want, need, Skr. h[=a]ni loss, lack, h[=a] to leave.]
   General scarcity of food; dearth; a want of provisions;
   destitution. ``Worn with famine.'' --Milton.

         There was a famine in the land.          --Gen. xxvi.
                                                  1.

   {Famine fever} (Med.), typhus fever.

Source : WordNet®

famine
     n 1: an acute insufficiency [syn: {dearth}, {shortage}]
     2: a severe shortage of food (as through crop failure)
        resulting in violent hunger and starvation and death