Verb

sterben

died

Er starb an einer Krankheit.

He died of an illness.

Die Blume starb ohne Wasser.

The flower died without water.

((an+3)) to die of ((sth.)) He died of an illness.

Synonyms: to pass away, to perish; Antonyms: to live

From Old High German 'sterban' (to become stiff). Cognate with English 'starve', which originally meant 'to die'.

'starb' sounds a bit like 'starve'. In old English, 'to starve' meant to die of any cause, not just hunger. This is the simple past singular form.

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