'anhungered' originates from Early Modern English, specifically the phrase 'an hungred,' where the prefix 'a(n)-' (from Old English 'on-') meant 'in, on; in a state of,' and 'hunger' (from Old English 'hungor') meant 'hunger,' with the participial suffix '-ed.'

'an hungred' appeared in Early Modern English (e.g., the King James Bible) and was later reanalyzed and fused into the single-word adjective 'anhungered' (also seen as 'ahungered'), alongside the established base forms 'hunger' (noun/verb) and 'hungry' (adjective).

Initially, it meant 'hungry (for food),' but it later also developed a figurative sense of 'strongly desirous or craving.'