belly English · revision 7829

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 700|origins=ine-pro *bʰelǵʰ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbɛli/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English beli, bely, [[inh|ang|belg|t=leather bag, purse, pod, husk, bellows]] (West Saxon belig, bylig, Anglian bælg),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) from Proto-Germanic *balgiz, bag,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Old Norse belgr, bag, bellows, and Gothic balgs, wineskin,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from PIE [[ine-pro|*bʰelǵʰ-|alt=*bhelgh-|t=to swell]], an extended form of *bʰel-, to blow, swell.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[bellows]] and [[billow]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A bag, skin-bag, pod or husk: about 700 in Barnhart, about 950 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline describes it as a general Germanic word for a leather bag that in English came to mean a part of the body.^(Etymonline) The body as the shell of the soul is from about 1275,^(OED 1989) and the stomach, especially as a symbol of gluttony, from about 1200.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The abdomen of a human or animal is from the late 14th century (1340 in the OED).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The Old English word for the belly was būc, compare German Bauch,^(Etymonline) and the plural of belg became the separate word bellows.^(Etymonline) A bulging or convex surface is from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) The underside of animals is from about 1440, and belly as a joint of meat from 1883.^(OED 1989) The verb, to swell out, is from about 1593–1606, in Shakespeare's ''Troilus and Cressida''.^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Old English belgan, to be angry, preserves a figurative sense of swelling.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 700 – a bag.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – the stomach.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1340 – the abdomen.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590s – a bulging surface.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1606 – the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The front part of the body below the chest; the [[abdomen]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The [[stomach]], especially as the seat of appetite or gluttony.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The underside of an animal's body.^(AHD)

+ # A part that bulges: ''the belly of a sail''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The inside or hollow interior of something: ''the belly of a ship''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To swell out or bulge.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bellylike]]

+ * [[belly up]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bellows]]

+ * [[billow]]

+ * [[bulge]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}