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bowel Definition

bowel (bo̵uəl)

noun

  1. an intestine, esp. of a human being; gut: usually used in pl.
  2. the interior or inner part the bowels of the mountain
  3. Archaic the inside of the body, regarded as the source of pity, tenderness, etc.; hence, tender emotions

Etymology: ME bouel < boele < OFr buele < ML botellum, intestine < L botellus, dim. of botulus, sausage, via Oscan or Umbrian < IE base *gwet-, a swelling > OE cwitha, womb

transitive verb -·eled or -·elled, -·el·ing or -·el·ling

to disembowel

bowel Idioms

move one's bowels

to pass waste matter from the large intestine; defecate

bowel Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • compassion: The great Father's heart is moved; his bowels of compassion are stirred: his mercies are overflowing.
  • earth: It is not necessary to descend hundreds of feet into the bowels of the earth to see the interior of a coal mine.
  • mercy: Now by what motive is the sovereign impelled to shut up his bowels of mercy, and sign the warrant for execution?
  • hell: A fight to the finish in the bowels of Hell.

Converse of object

  • distend: However the distended small bowel is likely to be oedematous, fragile and hypoxic, making the anastomosis more hazardous.
  • cleanse: You can see that this is a much deeper effect than just cleansing the bowel.
  • evacuate: This is why the urge to evacuate the bowel commonly occurs following a meal.
  • empty: Empty the bowels every morning The body's clock always tries to follow the cycles of nature.

Adjective modifier

  • irritable: During the day I frequently just put my hands on my tummy to help with the accompanying irritable bowel.
  • perforated: This was initially rejected and caused him to suffer a perforated bowel.
  • loose: An answer to loose bowels, easier to scoop the poop.
  • small: However, the camera looks further into the small bowel.
  • large: The contents of a lumbar hernia may include small or large bowel, omentum, stomach, liver or rarely the kidney.

Modifies a noun

  • syndrome: Impact of irritable bowel syndrome on quality of life.
  • obstruction: Mid or high small bowel obstruction presents a different picture.
  • cancer: Using PCR, bowel cancer can now be detected from the DNA of cells shed in the feces.
  • resection: Large bowel resection Operation to remove part of the bowel.
  • habit: Here are some points: Regular bowel habits make a child feel secure.
  • perforation: There were five deaths due to bowel perforation - all after cesarean section and all with substandard care.

Noun used with modifier

  • inflammatory: Our final symposium of the year was on Inflammatory bowel disease crossroads of microbes, epithelium and immune systems.

Browse dictionary entries near bowel

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  1. bowel movement
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