bellyache

C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈbɛliˌeɪk/ UK /ˈbɛliˌeɪk/ See IPA manual

noun verb

Meanings

1

noun
a pain in the stomach; to complain peevishly

Stop bellyaching and finish the job.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a pain in the stomach; to... complain grumble gripe whine moan grouse

Word family

Derived forms bellyacherbellyaching

Related forms belly ache

Etymology

From belly + ache; belly from Old English belg ('bag, pouch') and ache from Old English æce ('pain'). The 'complain' sense is 19th-century American slang.

belg Old English æce Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

# bellyache

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** ˈbɛliˌeɪk
**IPA (UK):** ˈbɛliˌeɪk

## Meanings
1. a pain in the stomach; to complain peevishly

## Examples
- Stop bellyaching and finish the job.

## Synonyms
- complain
- grumble
- gripe
- whine
- moan
- grouse

## Derived Forms
- bellyacher
- bellyaching

## Related Forms
- belly
- ache

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: belg
- Root: æce

## Etymology
From belly + ache; belly from Old English belg ('bag, pouch') and ache from Old English æce ('pain'). The 'complain' sense is 19th-century American slang.

## AI Etymology
Bellyache is from belly + ache; belly from Old English belg ('bag, pouch') and ache from Old English æce ('pain'). The 'complain' sense is 19th-century American slang. Important recorded forms include belg (Old English) and æce (Old English). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers a pain in the stomach; to complain peevishly. The wider family includes derived forms such as bellyacher and bellyaching and related words such as belly and ache.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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bellyache

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