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bellying up

 - 4 dictionary results

bel⋅ly

  [bel-ee] noun, plural -lies, verb, -lied, -ly⋅ing.
Use bellying up in a Sentence
–noun
1. the front or under part of a vertebrate body from the breastbone to the pelvis, containing the abdominal viscera; the abdomen.
2. the stomach with its adjuncts.
3. appetite or capacity for food; gluttony.
4. the womb.
5. the inside or interior of anything: the belly of a ship.
6. a protuberant or bulging surface of anything: the belly of a flask.
7. Anatomy. the fleshy part of a muscle.
8. the front, inner, or under surface or part, as distinguished from the back.
9. the front surface of a violin or similar instrument.
10. a bulge on a vertical surface of fresh concrete.
11. the underpart of the fuselage of an airplane.
–verb (used with object)
12. to fill out; swell: Wind bellied the sails.
–verb (used without object)
13. to swell out: Sails bellying in the wind.
14. to crawl on one's belly: soldiers bellying through a rice paddy.
—Verb phrase
15. belly up, Informal.
a. to approach closely, esp. until one is in physical contact: to belly up to a bar.
b. to curry favor from: Would you have gotten the promotion if you hadn't bellied up to the boss?
—Idiom
16. go or turn belly up, Informal. to come to an end; die; fail: After years of barely surviving on donations, the neighborhood social club finally went belly up.
Origin:
bef. 950; ME bely, OE belig, belg bag, skin; c. G Balg, Goth balgs, ON belgr sack; akin to Welsh bol(a), boly, Ir bolg sack, belly, bellows, Serbo-Croatian blàzina, Latvian pabàlsts, Avestan barəziš-, Pers bālish cushion

Related forms:
bel⋅ly⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

belly 
O.E. belg, bylg (W.Saxon), bælg (Anglian) "leather bag, purse, bellows," from P.Gmc. *balgiz "bag" (cf. O.N. belgr "bag, bellows," bylgja "billow," Goth. balgs "wineskin"), from PIE *bhelgh- "to swell," extension of root *bhel- "to inflate, swell" (see bole). Meaning shifted to "body" (c.1275), then to "abdomen" (1340). Meaning "bulging part or concave surface of anything" is 1591; the verb "to swell out" is from 1624. The W.Gmc. root had an extended sense of "anger, arrogance" (cf. O.E. bolgenmod "enraged;" belgan (v.) "to become angry"). Belly-button for "navel" is from 1877. Bellyache (v.) in the slang sense of "complain" is first recorded 1888. Belly-dance (1899) translates Fr. danse du ventre.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: bel·ly
Pronunciation: 'bel-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural bellies
1 a : ABDOMEN 1a b : the undersurface of an animal's body c : WOMB, UTERUS d : the stomach and its adjuncts
2 : the enlarged fleshy body of a muscle
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

belly bel·ly (běl'ē)
n.

  1. See abdomen.

  2. The stomach.

  3. The womb; the uterus.

  4. The bulging, central part of a muscle. Also called venter.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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