Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

belly

/ˈbɛli/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.10 in modern English

Syllables
bel-ly
IPA
/ˈbɛli/
10
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The abdomen (especially a fat one).

noun

stomach (an organ in animals that stores food in the process of digestion)

noun

uterus (a reproductive organ of therian mammals in which the young are conceived and develop until birth)

Countable

noun

The lower fuselage of an airplane.

noun

The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).

noun

The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).

noun

The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).

verb

To position one’s belly; to move on one’s belly.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *bʰólǵʰis 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 relation, compare typologically Macedonian мев (mev, “abdomen, belly; bellows”). Also compare Ancient Greek φῦσα (phûsa, “bellows; bladder; ...”), Latin venter — vēsīca, Russian пу́зо (púzo) — пузы́рь (puzýrʹ), пузырёк (puzyrjók).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: bely, bielġ, *balgi, *balgiz, *bʰelǵʰ-

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Medicine.

Inflected Forms

bellies (plural) bellie (alternative, archaic) bellies (present, singular) bellying (participle, present) bellied (participle, past) bellied (past)

Derived Forms

bellyache bellyband bellybutton bellycheer bellycrawl bellyflop bellyful bellylaugh bellyless bellylike bellyload bellyscraper

Phrases

Bali belly bean-belly beer belly belly-aching belly bag belly band belly-band belly boat

Frequently Paired Words

abdomen bouk have eyes bigger than one's belly midriff stomach tummy

Synonyms

matrix metra uterus womb abdomen belly midriff stomach tum tummy tum-tum ventrum

Rhymes With

kelly delhi jelly ellie shelley kelley deli shelly smelly telly nelly tele

Questions

How do you pronounce belly?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbɛli/.
What does belly mean?
The abdomen (especially a fat one).
Where does belly come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce belly

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “belly”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbɛli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “belly”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “belly” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.