ravenous derives from the Late
Latin rapinare meaning to
plunder, which in turn
derived from the Latin
rapire, meaning to
seize, which also gave rise to the
English words,
ravish, rape and
rapid. Perhaps surprisingly,
ravenous is not related to
raven, the name of a large, black
bird, but confusion of the two words may have contributed to the bird's
reputation as a
thief.
Finally, lucrate, meaning to eat ravenously also derives from a Latin source: lucare, meaning to eat like a glutton.
From: Cupboard Love: A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities