belly

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“
Behold, my belly is as new wine which wanteth vent, which bursteth the new vessels.

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Definitions (31)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (10)

  1. noun See abdomen.
  2. noun The underside of the body of certain vertebrates, such as snakes and fish.
  3. noun Informal The stomach.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (12)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

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Examples (50)

  • He pulled the rope off and rolled around so that his belly was against the trunk. —  Lost Echoes by Joe R Lansdale
  • The maddening twist of craving low in her belly was a growing torment Sebasten sat her up, sank impatient hands beneath her and peeled off her panties. —  lynnegraham
  • Having guzzled almost a whole pitcher of iced tea during lunch, he now felt like his belly was about to burst. —  Hoot
  • She's put on some weight, but I'd assumed until now that the continued swelling in her belly was a by-product of earlier malnutrition. —  F ;SF; - vol 088 issue 02 - February 1995
  • His legs are white and spindly, but his belly is the size and shape of a beer barrel. —  Latest news from the public and voluntary sectors, including health, children, local government and social care, plus SocietyGuardian jobs | guardian.co.uk
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

stomach ·  chest ·  thigh ·  throat ·  breast ·  jaw ·  tail ·  abdomen ·  nose ·  skull ·  cheek ·  flesh

Used in the same contextWord Family

belly:   bellies
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English beli, from Old English belg, bag; see bhelgh- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Early modern English and English dial, also bally, from Middle English bely, beli, belly, stomach, womb (in early Middle English the body), also a bellows (see bellows), from Anglo-Saxon belg, bælg, bielg, bylg (also bælig, belig, bylig, with intrusive i). also bælge, bylge, a bag, bell, pouch, purse, hull, bellows, a bag of any kind, especially of skin (= OFries. balga = Dutch balg, skin, belly, = Old High German balg, Middle High German balc, German balg, skin, case, bellows, paunch, = Icelandic belgr (whence perhaps böggr, a bag, baggi, a bag, whence perhaps English bag) = Swedish bälg = Danish bælg, skin, case, pod, belly, bellows, = Goth, balgs, a wine-skin, orig. a bag, especially of skin), from belgan (preterit bealg) (= Old High German belgan), swell, swell up, be inflated. Cf. bell and boln. Doublet (orig. plural) bellows, q. v. Similar forms are Gael, balg, bolg = Irish balg, bolg, bag, belly, = Welsh bol, bola, boly, belly, apparently an old Celtic word, later Late Latin bulga, bag: see bulge, bouge, budge, etc.
  2. from belly, n.
 

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/ˈbɛli/
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