midriff

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˈmɪdrɪf/ UK /ˈmɪdrɪf/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the front of the body between the chest and the waist

The dancer's costume left her midriff bare.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the front of the body... waistmidsectiondiaphragm belly stomach

Word family

Related forms mid

Etymology

From Old English midhrif, from midd 'middle' + hrif 'belly, womb', the latter from Proto-Germanic *hrefiz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷrep- 'body, form'.

midhrif Old English hrif Old English *kʷrep- Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

Space, Position & Direction

# midriff

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

## Meanings
1. the front of the body between the chest and the waist

## Examples
- The dancer's costume left her midriff bare.

## Synonyms
- waist
- midsection
- diaphragm
- belly
- stomach

## Related Forms
- mid

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: midhrif
- Root: hrif
- Root: *kʷrep-

## Etymology
From Old English midhrif, from midd 'middle' + hrif 'belly, womb', the latter from Proto-Germanic *hrefiz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷrep- 'body, form'.

## AI Etymology
Midriff comes from Old English midhrif, from midd 'middle' + hrif 'belly, womb', the latter from Proto-Germanic *hrefiz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷrep- 'body, form'. The etymological trail includes Old English midhrif, Old English hrif, Proto-Indo-European *kʷrep-. The same word family includes mid. Its current noun use means "the front of the body between the chest and the waist".

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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midriff

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