Etymograph

English

voracious

Voracious comes from Latin vorāx ‘voracious, gluttonous’, and goes back to vorō ‘to devour’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvorō1‘to devour’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvorāx1‘voracious, gluttonous’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1719voracious1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English voracious
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1719, The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Cruso: “I never had so much as […] one wish…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvorōWiktionary, English voracious‘to devour’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvorāxWiktionary, English voracious‘voracious, gluttonous’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1719voraciousWiktionary, English voracious. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1719, The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Cruso: “I never had so much as […] one wish…”

first attested First attested in the 17th century (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in the 17th century.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- ‘to devour’

gorge, quirk, gurgle, ouroboros, 23 more

through Proto-Italic *worā

devourer, 14 more

through Latin vorō ‘to devour’

devour, herbivorous, 15 more

Today it means

adj Wanting or devouring great quantities of food.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “voracious”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin vorō / voracious

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