# belly

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɛli/ · frequency rank #6,026

## Definitions
1. The abdomen (especially a fat one).
2. stomach (an organ in animals that stores food in the process of digestion)
3. uterus (a reproductive organ of therian mammals in which the young are conceived and develop until birth)
4. The lower fuselage of an airplane.
5. The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).
6. The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).
7. The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).

## Etymology
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).

## Easily confused with
- **bey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-bey)
- **bly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-bly)
- **bill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-bill)
- **belt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-belt)
- **bull** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-bull)
- **Belo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-belo)
- **bevy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-bevy)
- **below** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-below)
- **bills** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-bills)
- **billy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-billy)
- **berry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-berry)
- **bulls** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-bulls)
- **betty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-betty)
- **bully** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-bully)
- **belts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-belts)
- **benny** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-benny)
- **Betsy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-betsy)
- **bulky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-bulky)
- **burly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-burly)
- **Buell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/belly-vs-buell)

## Common misspellings (6)
`bbelly`, `bellyy`, `bely`, `belyl`, `blely`, `eblly`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/belly