belly

Meanings

Noun

• The abdomen, especially a fat one.
• The stomach.
• The womb.
• The lower fuselage of an airplane.
• The part of anything which resembles the human belly in protuberance or in cavity; the innermost part.
• The hollow part of a curved or bent timber, the convex part of which is the back.

Verb

• To position one’s belly; to move on one’s belly.
• To swell and become protuberant; to bulge or billow.
• To cause to swell out; to fill.

Origin

• From Middle English bely, beli, bali, below, belew, balyw, from Old English belg, bælg, bæliġ, from Proto-West Germanic *balgi, *balgu, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz, *balguz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-. Cognate with Dutch balg, German Balg. bellows, blague, bulge, and budge. See also bellows.