bowel
[ bou-uhl, boul ]
/ ˈbaʊ əl, baʊl /
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noun
Anatomy.
- Usually bowels. the intestine.
- a part of the intestine.
bowels,
- the inward or interior parts: the bowels of the earth.
- Archaic. feelings of pity or compassion.
verb (used with object), bow·eled, bow·el·ing or (especially British) bow·elled, bow·el·ling.
to disembowel.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Origin of bowel
1250–1300; Middle English b(o)uel<Old French <Latin botellus little sausage (bot(ulus) sausage + -ellus-elle)
OTHER WORDS FROM bowel
bow·el·less, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bowel in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for bowel
bowel
/ (ˈbaʊəl) /
noun
an intestine, esp the large intestine in man
(plural) innards; entrails
(plural) the deep or innermost part (esp in the phrase the bowels of the earth)
(plural) archaic the emotions, esp of pity or sympathy
Word Origin for bowel
C13: from Old French bouel, from Latin botellus a little sausage, from botulus sausage
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for bowel
bowel
[ bou′əl ]
The intestine.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.