bowel

[ bou-uhl, boul ]

noun

1. Anatomy.
   1. Usually bowels. the intestine.
   2. a part of the intestine.
2. bowels,
   1. the inward or interior parts:

      the bowels of the earth.

   2. Archaic. feelings of pity or compassion.

verb (used with object)

, bow·eled, bow·el·ing or (especially British) bow·elled, bow·el·ling.

1. to disembowel.

bowel

/ ˈbaʊəl /

noun

1. an intestine, esp the large intestine in man
2. plural innards; entrails
3. plural the deep or innermost part (esp in the phrase the bowels of the earth )
4. archaic.
   plural the emotions, esp of pity or sympathy

bowel

/ bou′əl /

1. The intestine.

Other Words From

• bowel·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bowel¹

1250–1300; Middle English b ( o ) uel < Old French < Latin botellus little sausage ( bot ( ulus ) sausage + -ellus -elle )

Word History and Origins

Origin of bowel¹

C13: from Old French bouel , from Latin botellus a little sausage, from botulus sausage

Example Sentences

Instead the Human Cell Atlas project has revealed there are thousands of cell types, with some appearing to be culprits in diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and cystic fibrosis.

From BBC

The men’s lawyers believe they have a case for a failure to disclose medical records and, at worst, may have had glimpses of a cover-up locked in the bowels of military archives.

From BBC

She also has two stomas in place for life because much of her bladder and bowel have had to be removed.

From BBC

The new insights potentially explain how the gut environment changes during inflammatory bowel disorders , such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and could lead to better treatments for gut infections.

From Science Daily

There is no prostate-cancer screening programme in the UK, unlike those for breast, bowel and cervical cancer.

From BBC

Related Words

• abdominal