First Known Use: before 12th century
Dictionary
1belly
noun bel·ly \ˈbe-lē\
: a person's stomach or the part of the body that contains the stomach
: the part of an animal's body that is like a person's belly
: a curved or rounded surface or part
plural bellies
Full Definition of BELLY
1
2
: an internal cavity : interior
3
: appetite for food
4
: a surface or object curved or rounded like a human belly
5
a : the enlarged fleshy body of a muscle b : the part of a sail that swells out when filled with wind
6
: gut 1a(2)
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Origin of BELLY
Middle English bely bellows, belly, from Old English belg bag, skin; akin to Old High German balg bag, skin, Old English blāwan to blow — more at blow
Related to BELLY
- Antonyms
- inappetence
2belly
verb
: to cause (something, such as a sail) to curve or bulge outward
bel·liedbel·ly·ing
Full Definition of BELLY
transitive verb
: to cause to swell or fill out <wind bellying the sails>
intransitive verb
2
a : to slide or crawl on one's belly b : belly-land
See belly defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of BELLY
1606
Related to BELLY
Rhymes with BELLY
BELLYING Defined for Kids
belly
noun bel·ly \ˈbe-lē\
plural bellies
Definition of BELLY for Kids
1
: the front part of the body between the chest and the hips
2
: the under part of an animal's body
3
: 1stomach 1 <My belly was full.>
4
: a space inside something <cargo stored in the ship's belly>
Word History of BELLY
Our words bellows and belly both come from an Old English word belg, meaning “bag” or “purse.” The plural from belga was also used with the meaning “bellows.” It was probably a shortening of the compound word blæstbelga, literally, “blow-bags.” It is belga that ultimately gives us the modern word bellows. The singular belg gives us the modern word belly, though the use of a word meaning “bag” for “stomach” only arose in English of the later Middle Ages, after the end of the Old English period.
Medical Dictionary
belly
noun bel·ly \ˈbel-ē\
plural bellies
Medical Definition of BELLY
Learn More About BELLY
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