stomach

pronunciation

How to pronounce stomach in British English: UK [ˈstʌmək] word uk audio image

How to pronounce stomach in American English: US [ˈstʌmək] word us audio image

Noun:

an enlarged and muscular saclike organ of the alimentary canal; the principal organ of digestion
the region of the body of a vertebrate between the thorax and the pelvis
an inclination or liking for things involving conflict or difficulty or unpleasantness
an appetite for food
Verb:

bear to eat
put up with something or somebody unpleasant

Word Origin

stomach: stomach: [14] Greek stómakhos was derived from stóma ‘mouth’, and originally denoted the ‘throat’ or ‘oesophagus’. It was also applied to the opening or ‘mouth’ of various internal organs, particularly the stomach, and eventually came to be used for the stomach itself. English acquired the word via Latin stomachus and Old French stomaque.

stomach (n.): late 14c., earlier stomak (early 14c.), "internal pouch into which food is digested," from Old French stomaque, estomac "stomach," from Latin stomachus "throat, gullet; stomach," also "taste, inclination, liking; distaste, dislike;" also "pride, indignation," which were thought to have their origin in that organ (source also of Spanish estómago, Italian stomaco), from Greek stomachos "throat, gullet, esophagus," literally "mouth, opening," from stoma "mouth" (see stoma). Applied anciently to the openings of various internal organs, especially that of the stomach, then by the later Greek physicians to the stomach itself. The native word is maw. Some 16c. anatomists tried to correct the sense back to "esophagus" and introduce ventricle for what we call the stomach. Meaning "belly, midriff, part of the body that contains the stomach" is from late 14c. The spelling of the ending of the word was conformed to Latin, but the pronunciation remains as in Middle English. Related: stomachial (1580s); stomachical (c. 1600); stomachic (1650s). Pugilistic stomacher "punch in the stomach" is from 1814; from mid-15c. as "vest or other garment which covers the belly." The Latin figurative senses also were in Middle English (such as "relish, inclination, desire," mid-15c.) or early Modern English. Also sometimes regarded in Middle Ages as the seat of sexual desire.

stomach (v.): "tolerate, put up with," 1570s, from stomach (n.), probably in reference to digestion; earlier sense was opposite: "to be offended at, resent" (1520s), echoing Latin stomachari "to be resentful, be irritated, be angry," from stomachus (n.) in its secondary sense of "pride, indignation." Related: Stomached; stomaching.

vt. & vi.