swagbelly

English

Alternative forms

  • swag belly

Etymology

From swag (to droop; to sag) + belly.

Noun

swagbelly (plural swagbellies)

  1. A prominent, overhanging belly.
    • 1755, Miguel de Cervantes, translated by Tobias Smollett, Don Quixote, Volume 1, II.1:
      Sancho Zancas [] in the picture, was represented as a person of a short stature, swag belly, and long spindle shanks [] .
    • 1935, Robert Ervin Howard, “The Haunter of the Pits”, in The Hour of the Dragon:
      He swept his gaze over the short, squat throat, the hairy swagbelly, and the mighty breast, swelling in giant arches like twin shields.
  2. Hence, a person with such a belly.
  3. (medicine) A distended abdomen, especially caused by a tumour or enlarged organ; a physconia.[1]

Synonyms

Derived terms

References

  1. 1839, Robley Dunglison, “SWAGBELLY”, in Medical Lexicon. A New Dictionary of Medical Science, [], 2nd edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lea and Blanchard, successors to Carey and Co., →OCLC:
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.