devour
UK[dɪˈvaʊə(r)]US[dɪˈvaʊər]
v
to eat something quickly and eagerly
v
to destroy something completely
v
to read or look at something with great interest and enthusiasm
Morpheme Breakdown
de
vour
de
completely
vour
to eat
Etymology
the word "devour" entered english in the 14th century from the old french 'devorer', which itself descended from the latin 'devorare'. this latin verb is a compound of the intensive prefix 'de-', meaning "down, completely", and 'vorare', meaning "to swallow, to gulp down". the root 'vorare' is linked to the proto-indo-european root 'gʷerh₃-', meaning "to swallow", which also gives us words like "voracious" and "carnivore". the literal sense of consuming food ravenously evolved metaphorically to describe the complete destruction or intense consumption of anything, such as by fire or with one's eyes and mind.
Analysis
Structure: de (completely) + vour (to eat)
de: latin origin, a prefix meaning "completely" or "down".
vour: from latin 'vorare', meaning "to devour, to swallow greedily". it appears in the english spelling as 'vour'.
Examples
the hungry dog proceeded to devour its meal in seconds.
the wildfire threatened to devour the entire forest.
she would devour every new book in the mystery series as soon as it was released.