land-hungry

The word is a modern English compound adjective, transparently formed from two native Germanic roots. 'Land', from Proto-Germanic landą, has consistently denoted the solid part of the earth's surface, a country, or a territory. 'Hungry', from Proto-Germanic hungrugaz, originally described the physical sensation of needing food. The compound 'land-hungry' employs a metaphorical extension, where the intense physical craving of hunger is applied to an insatiable desire for territorial acquisition. This figurative construction follows a common pattern in English for creating vivid descriptors, such as 'power-hungry' or 'attention-hungry', illustrating how concrete, bodily experiences are leveraged to express abstract social or political drives.

Structure: land (ground/territory) + hungry (desirous) - land: From Old English 'land', meaning 'ground, soil, territory'. In this compound, it functions as a noun, specifying the object of desire. - hungry: From Old English 'hungrig', meaning 'hungry, famished'. In this compound, it functions as an adjective, metaphorically indicating a strong craving or need.