belly

English

Alternative forms

bellie (archaic)

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English bely, beli, bali, below, belew, balyw, from Old English bielġ (“bag, pouch, bulge”), from Proto-West Germanic *balgi, *balgu, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz, *balguz (“skin, hide, bellows, bag”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“to swell, blow up”). Cognate with Dutch balg, German Balg, Danish bælg, Old Irish bolg, Welsh bol. Doublet of bellows, blague, bulge, and budge. See also bellows.

For the belly — bellows connection compare typologically Macedonian мев (mev, “abdomen, belly; bellows”). Also compare Ancient Greek φῦσα (phûsa, “bellows; bladder; ...”), Latin venter — vēsīca, Russian пу́зо (púzo) — пузы́рь (puzýrʹ), пузырёк (puzyrjók).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbɛli/
Audio (General American): (file)
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɛli
Hyphenation: bel‧ly

Noun

belly (plural bellies)

The abdomen (especially a fat one).
You've grown a belly over Christmas! Time to join the gym again.
stomach (an organ in animals that stores food in the process of digestion)
My belly was full of wine.
(anatomy, countable) uterus (a reproductive organ of therian mammals in which the young are conceived and develop until birth)
Synonyms: matrix (now archaic), metra, uterus, womb
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 1:5:
  Before I formed thee in the bellie, I knew thee; […]
The lower fuselage of an airplane.
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 454:
  There was no heat, and we shivered in the belly of the plane.
The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).
the belly of a flask, muscle, violin, sail, or ship
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jonah 2:2:
  […] I cried by reason of mine affliction vnto the Lord, and hee heard mee; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voyce.
- 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
  At last I got my knife and cut the halyards. The peak dropped instantly, a great belly of loose canvas floated broad upon the water […]
2. The main curved portion of a knife blade.
3. (architecture) The hollow part of a curved or bent timber, the convex part of which is the back.

Usage notes

Formerly, all the splanchnic or visceral cavities were called bellies: the lower belly being the abdomen; the middle belly, the thorax; and the upper belly, the head.

Derived terms

Descendants

Hawaiian Creole: belly
Sranan Tongo: bere
- Aukan: bee
- Saramaccan: bë́ë

Translations

abdomen — see also abdomen

Afrikaans: maag (af)
Aklanon: tiyan
Albanian: bark (sq) m
Amal: məlkai
Amharic: ሆድ (hod)
Arabic: بَطْن m (baṭn)
Egyptian Arabic: بطن f (baṭn), كرش m (kirš)

Hijazi Arabic: بطن f (baṭin), كرشة f (kirša) (fat belly)

Moroccan Arabic: كرش m (kerš)
Aragonese: pancha f
Armenian: փոր (hy) (pʻor), որովայն (hy) (orovayn)
Aromanian: pãntic, pãnticã, bicã, foale
Ashkun: banī
Assamese: পেট (pet)
Asturian: barriga (ast) f
Azerbaijani: göbək (az), qarın (az), qursaq (az)
Baluchi: لاپ (láp)
Basque: sabel
Belarusian: жыво́т m (žyvót), бру́ха n (brúxa)
Bengali: পেট (bn) (peṭ)
Bhojpuri: पेट (pēṭ)
Breton: kof (br) m
Brunei Malay: parut
Bulgarian: коре́м (bg) m (korém), шкембе́ (bg) n (škembé), тумба́к (bg) m (tumbák)
Burmese: ဗိုက် (my) (buik), ဝမ်း (my) (wam:)
Carpathian Rusyn: бріх (brix)
Catalan: buc (ca) m, abdomen (ca) m, panxa (ca) f, ventre (ca)
Cebuano: tiyan
Chepang: 'योङ्
Chichewa: mimba
Chinese:
Cantonese: 腹 (fuk¹), 腹部 (fuk¹ bou⁶), 肚 (tou⁵)

Dungan: дўзы (dwzɨ)

Eastern Min: 腹老 (bók-lō̤)

Hakka: 肚屎 (tú-sṳ́)

Hokkien: 腹 (zh-min-nan) (pak), 腹肚 (zh-min-nan) (pak-tó͘, bak-tó͘, pat-tó͘)

Mandarin: 腹 (zh) (fù), 腹部 (zh) (fùbù), 肚子 (zh) (dùzi)

Wu: 肚皮 (³du-bi)
Classical Nahuatl: ihtetl
Coptic:
Bohairic: ϧⲏⲧ m (xēt), ⲛⲉϫⲓ f (neči)

Sahidic: ϩⲏ m (hē)
Czech: břicho (cs) n
Dalmatian: viantro m
Danish: bug c, mave (da) c
Dutch: buik (nl) m
Erzya: пеке (peke)
Esperanto: ventro (eo)
Estonian: kõht (et), vats (et)
Even: ур (ur)
Evenki: ур (ur)
Faroese: búkur (fo) m, magi (fo) m
Finnish: maha (fi), masu (fi), vatsa (fi)
French: ventre (fr) m
Friulian: vintri m, panze f, gradoan
Galician: bandullo (gl) m, panza (gl) f, boxo m, andorga f, barriga (gl) f, tripa (gl) f
Georgian: მუცელი (ka) (muceli)
German: Bauch (de) m, Magen (de) m
Alemannic German: Büdel m
Gothic: 𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌿𐍃 m (qiþus)
Greek: κοιλιά (el) (koiliá)
Ancient: κοιλία f (koilía)
Guaraní: py'a (gn)
Haitian Creole: vant
Hawaiian: ʻōpū
Hebrew: בֶּטֶן (he) f (béten)
Hindi: पेट (hi) m (peṭ), उदर (hi) m (udar), शिकम (hi) m (śikam) (rare)
Hungarian: has (hu)
Icelandic: magi (is) m, (childish) malli m
Indonesian: perut (id)
Ingrian: mako, prulli
Interlingua: pancia, ventre
Iranun: tian
Irish: bolg m
Italian: pancia (it) f, ventre (it) m
Ivatan: vodek
Japanese: 胃 (ja) (い, i), お腹 (ja) (おなか, o-naka), 腹 (ja) (はら, hara), 腹部 (ja) (ふくぶ, fukubu)
Javanese: weteng (jv)
Jeju: 베 (be)
Kaitag: кӏултӏа (ḳulṭa)
Kapampangan: atian, atyan
Kashubian: brzëch
Kazakh: қарын (qaryn), құрсақ (qūrsaq), іш (ış)
Khmer: ក្រពះ (km) (krɑpĕəh), ពុង (km) (pung), ពោះ (km) (pŭəh), ក្បាលពោះ (kbaal pŭəh)
Kikuyu: nda
Korean: 배 (ko) (bae), 복부(腹部) (ko) (bokbu)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: زگ (ckb) (zig), ورگ (wirg)

Northern Kurdish: zik (ku) m
Kyrgyz: курсак (ky) (kursak)
Ladino: tripa f
Lao: ທ້ອງ (thǭng), ໂພ່ນ (phōn)
Latgalian: vādars m
Latin: abdomen, venter, pantex
Latvian: vēders (lv) m
Lezgi: руфун (rufun)
Ligurian: pansa f
Lithuanian: pilvas m
Lombard: venter (lmo)
Low German: Buuk (nds) m
Macedonian: мев m (mev), стомак (mk) m (stomak)
Malay: perut (ms)
Maltese: żaqq (mt) m
Manchu: ᡥᡝᡶᡝᠯᡳ (hefeli)
Maori: puku
Maranao: tiyan
Marwari: पैदौ m (paidau)
Mauritian Creole: vant
Moksha: пеке (peke)
Mon: ^{(please verify)} ဗုင်ဂၞဴ
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: гэдэс (mn) (gedes)
Nanai: хэмдэ (hemde)
Navajo: atéél
Neapolitan: panza f
Norman: ventre m (Jersey, Guernsey), vãtr m (Sark)
Northern Ohlone: hút̄u
Northern Sami: čoavji
Norwegian:
Bokmål: mage (no) m
Occitan: ventre (oc)
Odia: ପେଟ (or) (peṭa), ଉଦର (udara)
Ojibwe: (my belly) nimisad
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: чрѣво n (črěvo), брюхо n (brjuxo)
Old Czech: břuch m
Old English: wamb f
Old French: ventre m
Old Javanese: wĕtĕng
Oromo: garaa
Ottoman Turkish: قارن (karn, karın), شكم (şikem), بطن (batın)
Pannonian Rusyn: брух m (brux)
Pashto: نس (ps) m (nas), خېټه (ps) f (xéṭa)
Pennsylvania German: Bauch m
Persian:
Dari: شِکَم (šikam)

Iranian Persian: شِکَم (šekam)
Phoenician: 𐤁𐤈𐤍 (bṭn /⁠baṭn⁠/)
Plautdietsch: Buck (nds) m
Polish: brzuch (pl) m
Portuguese: barriga (pt) f, pança (pt) f, ventre (pt) m
Quechua: wiksa
Canka Quechua: wiksa

Waiwaş Quechua: paca

Wanka Quechua: pata
Romanian: burtă (ro), abdomen (ro), pântece (ro), (pop) vintre (ro)
Romansch: venter, vainter
Russian: живо́т (ru) m (živót), брю́хо (ru) n (brjúxo) (disparaging), пу́зо (ru) n (púzo) (disparaging)
Sanskrit: उदर (sa) m (udara)
Sardinian: bentre, bentri, brente, brenti
Scottish Gaelic: balg m, brù f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: тр̀бух m

Roman: tr̀buh (sh) m
Seychellois Creole: vant
Sicilian: panza (scn) f
Slovak: brucho (sk) n
Slovene: trebuh (sl) m
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: brjuch m

Upper Sorbian: brjuch m
Spanish: barriga (es) f, panza (es) f, vientre (es) m, guata (es) f, busa f (Argentina), busarda f (River Plate), buseca f (Argentina), mondongo (es) m, huata (es) f (Andes), wuata f (Andes)
Sranan Tongo: bere
Sudovian: vederas m
Sundanese: beuteung (su), patuangan (su)
Swedish: buk (sv) c, mage (sv) c
Tabasaran: фун (fun)
Tagalog: tiyan (tl), puson
Tajik: шикам (tg) (šikam)
Tamil: தொப்பை (ta) (toppai), தொந்தி (ta) (tonti)
Tarifit: aɛeddis m, aɛebbuḍ m
Tausug: tian
Telugu: పొట్ట (te) (poṭṭa), కడుపు (te) (kaḍupu)
Ternate: oru
Tetum: kabun
Thai: ท้อง (th) (tɔ́ɔng), พุง (th) (pung)
Tibetan: ཕོ་བ (pho ba)
Tigrinya: ከብዲ (käbdi)
Tocharian B: kātso
Tok Pisin: bel (tpi)
Tooro: enda
Turkish: göbek (tr), karın (tr)
Turkmen: garyn
Ugaritic: 𐎋𐎗𐎒 (krs)
Ukrainian: живі́т (uk) m (žyvít), бру́хо n (brúxo) (disparaging)
Umbundu: imo
Urdu: پیٹ m (peṭ), شِکَم m (śikam), اُدَر m (udar)
Uyghur: قورساق (qorsaq)
Uzbek: qorin (uz)
Venetan: pansa f, pança f
Vietnamese: bụng (vi)
Volapük: bälid (vo)
Walloon: vinte (wa) m
Winnebago: nįįxa
Wolof: biir
Yakut: ис (is)
Yiddish: בויך m (boykh)
Yoruba: inú, ikùn
Yurok: (my abdomen) 'ne-yah
Zazaki: mesk f
Zealandic: buuk m, poke f (in animals or vulgar)
Zhuang: aendungx, dungx
Zulu: isisu (zu) class 7/8

stomach — see stomach

womb — see also womb

Finnish: vatsa (fi)
Ladino: tripa f
Polish: macica (pl) f
Turkish: karın (tr)

lower fuselage of airplane

Finnish: vatsa (fi), ruuma (fi)

the part of anything resembling a belly

Finnish: vatsa (fi) (of bottle etc.), pullistuma (fi) (of muscle), koppa (fi) (of violin), pussi (fi) (of sail), ruuma (fi) (of ship)
Galician: boxo m, boxe (gl) m
Maori: kete (refers to a fishing net), pukehina (of a fishing net), nake (of a net), ngake (of a net)

Verb

belly (third-person singular simple present bellies, present participle bellying, simple past and past participle bellied)

To position one’s belly; to move on one’s belly.
- 1903 July, Jack London, “The Sounding of the Call”, in The Call of the Wild, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 220:
  Bellying forward to the edge of the clearing, he found Hans, lying on his face, feathered with arrows like a porcupine.
(intransitive) To swell and become protuberant; to bulge or billow.
- 1700, [John] Dryden, “Homer’s Ilias”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, book I, page 213:
  The Pow'r appeaſ'd, with Winds ſuffic'd the Sail, / The bellying Canvaſs ſtrutted with the Gale; […]
- 1890, Rudyard Kipling, The Rhyme of the Three Captains‎^[1]:
  The halliards twanged against the tops, the bunting bellied broad,
- 1914, Theodore Roosevelt, chapter 6, in Through the Brazilian Wilderness‎^[2]:
  There were trees whose trunks bellied into huge swellings.
- 1917 rev. 1925 Ezra Pound, "Canto I"
  winds from sternward
  
  Bore us onward with bellying canvas ...
- 1930, Otis Adelbert Kline, The Prince of Peril, serialized in Argosy, Chapter 1,^[3]
  The building stood on a circular foundation, and its walls, instead of mounting skyward in a straight line, bellied outward and then curved in again at the top.
(transitive) To cause to swell out; to fill.
- c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
  Your breath of full consent bellied his sails; […]
- 1920, Sinclair Lewis, chapter I, in Main Street: The Story of Carol Kennicott, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, →OCLC:
  A breeze which had crossed a thousand miles of wheat-lands bellied her taffeta skirt in a line so graceful, so full of animation and moving beauty, that the heart of a chance watcher on the lower road tightened to wistfulness over her quality of suspended freedom.

Derived terms

Hawaiian Creole

Etymology

Derived from English belly.

Noun

belly

stomach (an organ in animals that stores food in the process of digestion)
- 2000, “Numba 1 Fo Da Corint Peopo 16”, in Joseph Grimes, transl., Da Jesus Book: Hawaii Pidgin New Testament‎^[4], Wycliffe Bible Translators, →ISBN:
  Peopo say, “Da food fo da belly, an da belly fo da food.” But no matta — God goin make all dat pau. But you know, yoa body not fo fool aroun wit da wahines o da guys. You get one body so you can work fo da Boss, an da Boss, he da One dat take care yoa body.
  ‘Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods,’ but God will bring to nothing both it and them. But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.