belly

A2 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˈbɛli/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like berry /l/ vs /r/ Sounds like bally /ɛ/ vs /æ/

noun verb Freq #3382

Meanings

1

noun
The front part of the body below the chest; the stomach area.

You've grown a belly over Christmas!
2

noun
A rounded or bulging part of something.

The wind filled the belly of the sail.
3

verb
To swell out or bulge.

The balloon bellied out as it filled with air.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the front part of the body... stomach

3 verb · to swell out or bulge. belly out

More abdomen midriff tumtum-tumtummyventrum

Word family

Forms belliedbelliesbellying

Derived forms belly-achingbelly-bandbelly-buttonbelly-dancebelly-dancerbelly-dumperbelly-flopbelly-godbelly-laughbelly-temberbelly-timberbelly-timmer

Related forms abdomen bouk midriff stomach tummy

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *balgiz Proto-West Germanic *balgi Old English bielġ Middle English bely English belly Inherited from Middle English bely, beli, bali, below, belew, balyw, from Old English bielġ (“bag, pouch, bulge”), from Proto-West Germanic *balgi, *balgu, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz, *balguz (“skin, hide, bellows, bag”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“to swell, blow up”). Cognate with Dutch balg, German Balg, Danish bælg, Old Irish bolg, Welsh bol. Doublet of bellows, blague, bulge, and budge. See also bellows. For the belly — bellows conn…

*bʰelǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European bely Middle English bielġ Old English *balgi Proto-West Germanic *balgiz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction The Human Body

# belly

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** ˈbɛli
**Frequency rank:** 3382

## Meanings
1. The front part of the body below the chest; the stomach area.
2. A rounded or bulging part of something.
3. To swell out or bulge.

## Examples
- You've grown a belly over Christmas!
- The wind filled the belly of the sail.
- The balloon bellied out as it filled with air.

## Synonyms
- abdomen
- midriff
- stomach
- tum
- tum-tum
- tummy
- ventrum

## Derived Forms
- belly-aching
- belly-band
- belly-button
- belly-dance
- belly-dancer
- belly-dumper
- belly-flop
- belly-god
- belly-laugh
- belly-tember
- belly-timber
- belly-timmer

## Related Forms
- abdomen
- bouk
- midriff
- stomach
- tummy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰelǵʰ-
- Root: bely
- Root: bielġ
- Root: *balgi
- Root: *balgiz

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *balgiz Proto-West Germanic *balgi Old English bielġ Middle English bely English belly Inherited from Middle English bely, beli, bali, below, belew, balyw, from Old English bielġ (“bag, pouch, bulge”), from Proto-West Germanic *balgi, *balgu, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz, *balguz (“skin, hide, bellows, bag”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“to swell, blow up”). Cognate with Dutch balg, German Balg, Danish bælg, Old Irish bolg, Welsh bol. Doublet of bellows, blague, bulge, and budge. See also bellows. For the belly — bellows conn…

## AI Etymology
Belly is inherited from Middle English bely, beli, bali, below, belew, balyw, from Old English bielġ (“bag, pouch, bulge”), from Proto-West Germanic *balgi, *balgu, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz, *balguz (“skin, hide, bellows, bag”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“to swell, blow up”). Cognate with Dutch balg, German Balg, Danish bælg, Old Irish bolg, Welsh bol. Doublet of bellows, blague, bulge, and budge. See also bellows. Belly follows a historical chain through Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-, Proto-Germanic *balgiz, Proto-West Germanic *balgi, Old English bielġ, Middle English bely, English belly.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- The Human Body

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