intestine

English

The intestine, along with surrounding organs

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈtɛstɪn/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈtɛstaɪn/
• Rhymes: -ɛstɪn

Etymology 1

From Latin intestīnum, neuter of intestīnus (“internal”), as Etymology 2, below.

Noun

intestine (plural intestines)

1. (anatomy, often pluralized) The alimentary canal of an animal through which food passes after having passed all stomachs.
2. One of certain subdivisions of this part of the alimentary canal, such as the small or large intestine in human beings.

Synonyms

• bowel
• gut
• tharm

Derived terms

Derived terms

• gastrointestinal
• intestinal

• large intestine
• small intestine

Translations

alimentary canal

• Afrikaans: derm
• Albanian: zorrë (sq) f
• Arabic: مِعًى‎‎ m (miʿan), مَعْي‎‎ m (maʿy), مِعَاء‎‎ m (miʿāʾ), أَمْصِرَة‎‎ m pl (ʾamṣira), مَصِير‎‎ m (maṣīr), مُصْرَان‎‎ m pl (muṣrān), مَصَارِين‎‎ m pl (maṣārīn), حَشًا‎‎ f (ḥašan), أَحْشَاء‎‎ f pl (ʾaḥšāʾ)

  Egyptian Arabic: أمعاء‎‎ f pl (ʾamʿāʾ), مصران‎‎ m (muṣrān), مصارين‎‎ f pl (maṣarīn)

• Armenian: աղիք (hy) (ałikʿ)
• Aromanian: matsu
• Azerbaijani: bağırsaq (az)
• Bashkir: эсәк (esäk)
• Belarusian: кі́шка f (kíška), кішэ́чнік m (kišéčnik), чэ́рава n (čérava) (dated or poetic)
• Bengali: অন্ত্র (bn) (ôntrô)
• Bulgarian: черво (bg) (červo)
• Burmese: အူ (my) (u), ဝမ်း (my) (wam:)
• Catalan: intestí (ca) m, budell (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 腸管 (zh), 肠管 (zh) (chángguǎn), 腸子 (zh), 肠子 (zh) (chángzi), 腸 (zh), 肠 (zh) (cháng)

• Czech: střevo (cs) n
• Danish: tarm (da) c
• Dutch: darm (nl) m, ingewanden (nl) pl
• Esperanto: intesto
• Estonian: sool (et)
• Finnish: suolisto (fi), suolet (fi) pl
• French: intestin (fr) m, boyau (fr) m (intestine of an animal, or, informally, of a human)
• Galician: intestino (gl) m
• Georgian: ნაწლავი (nac̣lavi), კუჭ-ნაწლავი (ḳuč̣-nac̣lavi)
• German: Darm (de) m, Eingeweide (de) n
• Greek: έντερο (el) n (éntero)
• Hawaiian: naʻau
• Hebrew: מְעִי‎‎ (he) m (me'i)
• Hindi: अँतड़ी (hi) (ãtṛī), आँत (hi) (ā̃t), आंत (hi) (ānt)
• Hungarian: bél (hu), zsiger (hu)
• Icelandic: görn (is) f
• Indonesian: usus (id)
• Irish: putóg (ga) f
• Italian: intestino (it) m
• Japanese: 腸管 (ちょうかん, chōkan), 腸 (ja) (ちょう, chō)
• Kazakh: ішек (kk) (işek)
• Khmer: អន្តៈ (km) (ʾɑntaʾ)
• Korean: 창자 (ko) (changja), 창 (ko) (chang), 배알 (ko) (baeal) (vulgar)
• Kyrgyz: ичеги (ky) (içegi), ичек (ky) (içek)
• Lao: ລໍາໄສ້ (lam sai), ໃສ້ (sai)
• Latin: lactes
• Latvian: zarna f, zarnas f pl
• Lithuanian: žarnos f pl
• Low German: Darm m
• Macedonian: цре́во n (crévo)
• Malay: usus
• Maltese: musrana f
• Maori: kōpiro, terotero

• Mongolian: гэдэс (mn) (gedes)
• Navajo: achʼííʼ
• Northern Sami: čoalli
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tarm m, tarmer pl

  Nynorsk: tarm m, tarmar pl

• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: чрѣво n (črěvo)

  Glagolitic: ⱍⱃⱑⰲⱁ n (črěvo)

• Old East Slavic: чрево n (črevo)
• Old Frisian: therm m
• Pali: anta m
• Pashto: انډاره‎‎ (ps) m (anḍārá)
• Persian: روده‎‎ (fa) (rude)
• Polish: jelito (pl) n, kiszka (pl) f, trzewo n (archaic)
• Portuguese: intestino (pt) m
• Romanian: intestin (ro), maț (ro), intestine n pl
• Russian: кишка́ (ru) f (kišká), кише́чник (ru) m (kišéčnik), чре́во (ru) n (črévo) (dated or poetic)
• Sanskrit: अन्त्र (sa) (antra)
• Saterland Frisian: Tierm m, (Uutände) Täirm m
• Scottish Gaelic: caolan m, greallach f, mionach m, innidh f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: црево n, цријево n

  Roman: crevo (sh) n, crijevo (sh) n

• Slovak: črevo (sk) n
• Slovene: črevo (sl) n
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: crjowo

  Upper Sorbian: črjewo n

• Spanish: intestino (es) m, tripa (es) f
• Sundanese: peujit
• Swedish: tarm (sv) c, inälvor (sv) pl
• Tagalog: bituka
• Tajik: рӯда (rüda)
• Tatar: эчәк (tt) (eçäq)
• Thai: ลำไส้ (th) (lam-sâi), ไส้ (th) (sâi)
• Tibetan: རྒྱུ་མ (rgyu ma)
• Turkish: bağırsak (tr)
• Turkmen: içege, iç
• Ukrainian: ки́шка (uk) f (kýška), кише́чник (uk) m (kyšéčnyk), че́рево n (čérevo) (dated or poetic)
• Urdu: آنت‎‎ (ur) (ānt)
• Uyghur: ئۈچەي‎‎ (üchey)
• Uzbek: ichak (uz)
• Vietnamese: ruột (vi), tràng (vi)
• Volapük: ninäm (vo)
• Welsh: coluddyn m
• West Frisian: term (fy) c
• Wolof: butit
• Yiddish: קישקע‎‎ f (kishke)
• Zulu: ithumbu class 5/6

subdivision of the alimentary canal

• Arabic: أَمْعَاء‎‎ m pl (ʾamʿāʾ), مَصِير‎‎ m (maṣīr)
• Armenian: աղիք (hy) (ałikʿ)
• Bashkir: эсәк (esäk)
• Catalan: intestí (ca) m, budell (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 腸管 (zh), 肠管 (zh) (chángguǎn), 腸 (zh), 肠 (zh) (cháng)

• Czech: střevo (cs) n
• Dutch: darm (nl) m, ingewanden (nl) pl
• Esperanto: intesto
• Finnish: suoli (fi)
• French: intestin (fr) m
• Georgian: ნაწლავი (nac̣lavi), კუჭ-ნაწლავი (ḳuč̣-nac̣lavi)
• German: Darm (de) m, Eingeweide (de) n
• Greek: έντερο (el) n (éntero)
• Hebrew: מְעִי‎‎ (he)
• Hungarian: bél (hu)
• Irish: putóg (ga) f
• Italian: intestino (it) m
• Japanese: 腸管 (ちょうかん, chōkan), 腸 (ja) (ちょう, chō)
• Korean: 창자 (ko) (changja), (vulgar) 배알 (ko) (baeal)
• Latvian: zarna f
• Lithuanian: zarna f

• Macedonian: црево n (crévo)
• Mongolian: гэдэс (mn) (gedes)
• Norwegian: tarm m

  Bokmål: tarmer pl

• Persian: روده‎‎ (fa) (rude)
• Polish: jelito (pl) n
• Portuguese: intestino (pt) m
• Romanian: intestin (ro)
• Russian: кишка́ (ru) f (kišká), кише́чник (ru) m (kišéčnik)
• Saterland Frisian: Tierm m, (Uutände) Täirm m
• Scottish Gaelic: caolan m, greallach f, mionach m, innidh f
• Slovene: črevo (sl) n
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: crjowo

• Spanish: intestino (es), intestinos (es) m
• Swedish: tarm (sv) c, inälvor (sv) pl
• Thai: ลำไส้ (th) (lam-sâi)
• Turkish: bağırsak (tr)
• Vietnamese: ruột (vi)
• Volapük: ninäm (vo)
• West Frisian: term (fy) c
• Zulu: ithumbu class 5/6

See also

• entrail
• innard
• colon

Etymology 2

From Latin intestīnus (“internal”), from intus (“within”).

Adjective

intestine (not comparable)

1. Domestic; taking place within a given country or region.
   • 1615, Ralph Hamor, A True Discourse of the Present State of Virginia, Richmond 1957, p.2:

     It being true that now after fiue yeeres intestine warre with the reuengefull implacable Indians, a firme peace (not againe easily to be broken) hath bin lately concluded […].

   • 1776, Edward Gibbon, The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch.1,

     Yet the success of Trajan, however transient, was rapid and specious. The degenerate Parthians, broken by intestine discord, fled before his arms.

2. (obsolete) Internal.
   • 1603, John Florio, transl.; Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, printed at London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821:
     , I.41:

     When you have alleaged all the reasons you can, and beleeved all to disavow and reject her, she produceth, contrarie to your discourses, so intestine inclination, that you have small hold against her.

   • Milton

     Hoping here to end / Intestine war in heaven, the arch foe subdued.

   • Hume

     an intestine struggle […] between authority and liberty

3. (obsolete, rare) Depending upon the internal constitution of a body or entity; subjective.
   • Cudworth

     Everything labours under an intestine necessity.

4. (obsolete, rare) Shut up; enclosed.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Cowper to this entry?)

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Italian

Adjective

intestine f pl

1. feminine plural of intestino

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Latin

Adjective

intestīne

1. vocative masculine singular of intestīnus