belly
n. countablen. the front part of your body between your chest and your legs. It is a common word for your stomach or tummy.
n. the stomach or the front part of the human body between the chest and the pelvis. Often used in informal or anatomical contexts to describe the protruding part of an object.
He felt full after eating a big meal and rubbed his belly.
The cat lay on its back in the sun, waiting for someone to scratch its soft white belly.
The aircraft's landing gear failed to deploy, forcing the pilot to perform a dangerous emergency landing on the plane's belly.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-der. 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 connection 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).
Commonly used in informal speech; 'stomach' or 'abdomen' are preferred in medical or formal contexts.