Lexic.us

Definition of Belly

1. Verb. Swell out or bulge out.

2. Noun. The region of the body of a vertebrate between the thorax and the pelvis.

3. Noun. A protruding abdomen.

4. Noun. A part that bulges deeply. "The belly of a sail"

5. Noun. The hollow inside of something. "In the belly of the ship"

6. Noun. The underpart of the body of certain vertebrates such as snakes or fish.

Definition of Belly

1. n. That part of the human body which extends downward from the breast to the thighs, and contains the bowels, or intestines; the abdomen.

2. v. t. To cause to swell out; to fill.

3. v. i. To swell and become protuberant, like the belly; to bulge.

Definition of Belly

1. Noun. The abdomen. ¹

2. Noun. The stomach, especially a fat one. ¹

3. Noun. The lower fuselage of an airplane. ¹

4. Verb. To position one's belly. ¹

5. Verb. To swell and become protuberant; to bulge. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Belly

1. to swell out [v -LIED, -LYING, -LIES]

Medical Definition of Belly

1. Origin: OE. Bali, bely, AS. Belg, baelg, baelig, bag, bellows, belly; akin to Icel. Belgr bag, bellows, Sw. Balg, Dan. Baelg, D. & G. Balg, cf. W. Bol the paunch or belly, dim. Boly, Ir. Bolg. Cf. Bellows, Follicle, Fool, Bilge. 1. That part of the human body which extends downward from the breast to the thighs, and contains the bowels, or intestines; the abdomen. 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. 2. The under part of the body of animals, corresponding to the human belly. "Underneath the belly of their steeds." (Shak) 3. The womb. "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee." (Jer. I. 5) 4. The part of anything which resembles the human belly in protuberance or in cavity; the innermost part; as, the belly of a flask, muscle, sail, ship. "Out of the belly of hell cried I." (Jonah II. 2) 5. The hollow part of a curved or bent timber, the convex part of which is the back. Belly doublet, a doublet of the 16th century, hanging down so as to cover the belly. Shak. Belly fretting, the chafing of a horse's belly with a girth. Johnson. Belly timber, food. Belly worm, a worm that breeds or lives in the belly (stomach or intestines). To cause to swell out; to fill. "Your breath of full consent bellied his sails." (Shak) Origin: Bellied; Bellying. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Belly

bellropes bells bells and smells bells and whistles bells of Ireland bells the cat belltower belltowers belluine bellweather

bellweathers bellwether bellwethers bellwort bellworts belly (current term) belly-dance belly-flop belly-god belly-gods

belly-land belly-up belly-up(p) belly-wark belly breathing belly buster belly busters

Literary usage of Belly

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The new nation by John Morris (1880)
"Latin Uterus, Uteri, a belly or paunch. Sanscrit 154 Udara, the belly. Hindustani 69 Udar, the belly. This insatiable appetite for food, ..."

2. Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical by Henry Gray (1897)
"This is the "belly stalk," in the interior of which is to be found the ... rins the outer lining of the intestine, extends out into the belly stalk and ..."

3. Eastern Proverbs and Emblems Illustrating Old Truths by James Long (1881)
"The Glutton's God Ms belly.—PHIL. 3 19. The Bengalis call a glutton one all belly. The Egyptians, on embalming a body, threw the belly into the river, ..."

4. A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps (1889)
"A thin part of a carcase neu the belly. North. bellyS. Bellows. ... belly-TIMBER. Food. Var. dial Scott puts this word into the mouth of a distinguished ..."

5. The Harvard Classics by Charles William Eliot (1909)
"THE belly AND THE MEMBERS ONE fine day it occurred to the Members of the Body that they were doing all the work and the belly was having all the food. ..."

Other Resources: