Meaning

noun the region of the body of a vertebrate between the thorax and the pelvis

noun a protruding abdomen

noun a part that bulges deeply

originEtymology 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…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0