Daily AncestorInanition
Inanition means exhaustion from lack of food or water, or from a body unable to use them; on old records it often means starvation or failure to feed.
Inanition comes from a Latin word for emptiness. As a cause of death it meant the body had been starved of food or fluid, or could not take it in.
It might reflect true hunger, but more often an illness such as a throat or stomach disease, or a newborn who could not feed. It is closely related to marasmus, which was used mainly for wasted infants.
As seen in a recordCause of death line on an early 1900s death certificate
Cause of death: Inanition. Contributory: Premature birth.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Inanition." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/inanition. Last checked 2026-10-01.