consumption

Etymology

From Old French consumpcion, from Latin cōnsūmptiō, from cōnsūmō + -tiō, from con- (“with, together”) + sūmō (“take; consume”). Equivalent to consume + -tion.

noun

1. The act of eating, drinking or using.
   The consumption of snails as food is more common in France than in England.
2. The amount consumed.
   gross national consumption
3. The act of consuming or destroying.
   The fire's consumption of the forest caused ecological changes.
   Driving methods have a direct bearing on fuel consumption with every type of motive power. 1963 February, “Diesel locomotive faults and their remedies”, in Modern Railways, page 99
4. (pathology) The wasting away of the human body through disease.
5. (pathology, dated) Pulmonary tuberculosis and other diseases that cause wasting away, lung infection, etc.
6. (euphemistic, dated) Alcoholism as it precipitates a person's death (especially of natural causes).