Belly

n. [A-S. bæl'g, bælig, bag, pouch, belly, Icel. belgr, Sw. & Dan. bälg, D. & Ger. balg. Cf. W. bol, the paunch or belly, dim. boly, Ir. bolg. See BELLOWS.]

1Sense 1. That part of the human body which extends downward from the breast to the thighs, and contains the bowels, or intestines; the abdomen.

¶ Formerly all the splanchnic or visceral cavities were called bellies;—the lower belly being the abdomen; the middle belly, the thorax; and the upper belly, the head. Dunglison.

2Sense 2. The part of a beast corresponding to the human belly.

Underneath the belly of their steeds. Shak.

3Sense 3. The womb. [Obs. or rare.]

Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Jer. i. 5.

4Sense 4. The part of any thing which resembles the human belly in protuberance or cavity; as, the belly of a harp, bottle, tool, muscle, sail, and the like.

Out of the belly of hell cried I. Jonah ii. 2.

v. t. To swell out; to fill. [Rare.] Your breath, with full consent, bellied his sails. Shak.

v. i. To swell and become protuberant, like the belly. The bellying canvas strutted with the gale. Dryden.