Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. See diaphragm.
- n. The middle outer portion of the front of the human body, extending roughly from just below the breast to the waistline.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The diaphragm. See cut at diaphragm.
Wiktionary
- n. The mid section of the human torso, from below the chest to above the waist
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Anat.) See diaphragm, n., 2.
- n. The middle part of the front of the body, from the waist to the chest.
- n. That part of a garment, especially a dress or bodice, that covers the midriff{2}.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the middle area of the human torso (usually in front)
- n. (anatomy) a muscular partition separating the abdominal and thoracic cavities; functions in respiration
Etymologies
- From Middle English mydryf, from Old English mid + hrif ("stomach") (Wiktionary)
- Middle English midrif, from Old English midhrif : midd, mid; see mid1 + hrif, belly; see kwrep- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“In later years, I thought maybe the instructors were worried about the boys not learning if they were staring at girls in midriff tops.”
“Picture grown men, dressed in midriff-baring blouses, tight miniskirts, and beads, girating in the streets!”
“Next in order is the middle region, or chest, which comprehends the vital faculties and parts; which (as I have said) is separated from the lower belly by the diaphragma or midriff, which is a skin consisting of many nerves, membranes; and amongst other uses it hath, is the instrument of laughing.”
“Now that the midriff, which is a kind of outgrowth from the sides of the thorax, acts as a screen to prevent heat mounting up from below, is shown by what happens, should it, owing to its proximity to the stomach, attract thence the hot and residual fluid.”
“For not a word has yet been said of the midriff, which is one of the parts that environ the viscera and therefore has to be considered with them.”
“The belly, (Abdomen.) The breast, (thorax) and belly (abdomen,) are separated by a strong membrane, called the midriff or diaphragm, which will be described hereafter.”
“From the vein that passes through the liver two branches separate off, of which one terminates in the diaphragm or so-called midriff, and the other runs up again through the armpit into the right arm and unites with the other veins at the inside of the bend of the arm; and it is in consequence of this local connexion that, when the surgeon opens this vein in the forearm, the patient is relieved of certain pains in the liver; and from the left-hand side of it there extends a short but thick vein to the spleen and the little veins branching off it disappear in that organ.”
“My favorite and well sewn dress pattern has that same kind of midriff, but the point faces north.”
“That portion of the midriff which is near the ribs is fleshier and stronger than the rest, but the central part has more of a membranous character; for this structure conduces best to its strength and its extensibility.”
“MR. KING: You have the same kind of midriff -- and he eats like you -- fast foods.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘midriff’.
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strangelyrouge's Words
glockenspiel, gewgaw, jetsam, flotsam, gripe, grab, wench, whilst, betwixt, hither, thither, yonder and 1034 more...
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daleshipley's Words
brinksmanship, contravene, teleological, sartorial, conventicle, habiliment, tendentious, acrimonious, ontology, epistemology, impugn, dysphasia and 219 more...
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stpeter's Words
abase, abasement, abashed, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abhorrent, abide, abject, ablation, abnegation and 3536 more...
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Ffine ffettle
Words ending in double F
bailiff, mastiff, pontiff, plaintiff, distaff, dandruff, biff, blastoff, brushoff, bluff, buff, caitiff and 51 more...
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Sesquipedalian's Words
froward, sesquipedalian, muntjak, vertiginous, minatory, quotidian, concestor, hypnagogic, palimpsest, ruminate, antediluvian, percipience and 22 more...
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Unidentified Flying Words
Random Encounters With Words
bemoan, hold off, skittery, conducive, vignette, ditsy, inkling, ephemeron, tailgate, extenuating, shindig, abolitionist and 32 more...
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simple & useful 16
walter mitty, countervailing, fulcrum, wayfaring, in arrears, calculatingly, versification, fetching, circumfluous, intertwisted, graven image, whammo and 81 more...
Tweets
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whichbe ...if ya catch midriff. Nov 24, 2008