bellows

bellows
\ \ [OE] Bellows and belly were originally the same word, Old English belig, which meant ‘bag’. This was used in the compound blǣstbelig, literally ‘blowing bag’, a device for blowing a fire, which was replaced in the late Old English period by the plural form of the noun, belga or belgum, from which we get bellows. Meanwhile the meaning of belly developed from ‘bag’ to, in the 13th century, ‘body’ and, in the 14th century, ‘abdomen’.
\ \ Ultimately the word goes back to Germanic *balgizbag’, from the base *balg- or *belg- (itself a descendant of Indo-European *bhel- ‘swell’), which also lies behind billow [16], bolster, and possibly bellow and bell.
\ \ Cf.BELL, BELLOW, BELLY, BILLOW, BOLD, BOLSTER

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bellows — Bel lows, n. sing. & pl. [OE. bely, below, belly, bellows, AS. b[ae]lg, b[ae]lig, bag, bellows, belly. Bellows is prop. a pl. and the orig. sense is bag. See {Belly}.] An instrument, utensil, or machine, which, by alternate expansion and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bellows — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Brian Bellows (* 1964), kanadischer Eishockeyspieler George Wesley Bellows (1882–1925), amerikanischer Maler Gil Bellows (* 1967), kanadischer Schauspieler Diese Seite ist eine …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • bellows — [bel′ōz΄] sing.n. [ME belwes, orig. pl. of beli: see BELLY] [with sing. or pl. v.] 1. a device that produces a stream of air through a narrow tube when its sides are pressed together: used in pipe organs, for blowing fires, etc. 2. anything like… …   English World dictionary

  • Bellows — (spr. béllos), Henry Whitney, amerikan. Geistlicher, geb. 10. Juni 1814 in Boston, gest. 30. Jan. 1882, wurde 1838 Pfarrer der ersten Kongregationalistenkirche in New York, wo er 1846–50 zugleich das liberale Unitarierblatt »Christian Inquirer«… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Bellows —   [ beləʊz], George Wesley, amerikanischer Maler, Zeichner und Lithograph, * Columbus (Ohio) 12. 8. 1882, ✝ New York 8. 1. 1925. Als Schüler von R. Henri gehörte er zu den Malern der Ashcan School. Er suchte Themen im städtischen Alltag,… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • bellows — c.1200, belwes, lit. bags, plural of belu, belw, northern form of beli, from late O.E. belg bag, purse, leathern bottle (see BELLY (Cf. belly)). Reduced from blæstbælg, lit. blowing bag. Used exclusively in plural since 15c., probably due to the… …   Etymology dictionary

  • bellows — ► PLURAL NOUN 1) a device consisting of a bag with two handles, used for blowing air into a fire. 2) an object or device with sides that allow it to expand and contract. ORIGIN probably from the plural of the Old English word for «belly» …   English terms dictionary

  • Bellows — [bel′ōz΄] George (Wesley) 1882 1925; U.S. painter …   English World dictionary

  • Bellows — For other uses, see Bellows (disambiguation). Diagram of a fireplace hand bellows. A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location. Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an …   Wikipedia

  • bellows — bellowslike, adj. /bel ohz, euhz/, n. (used with a sing. or pl. v.) 1. a device for producing a strong current of air, consisting of a chamber that can be expanded to draw in air through a valve and contracted to expel it through a tube. 2.… …   Universalium

  • Bellows — /bel ohz/, n. George Wesley, 1882 1925, U.S. painter and lithographer. * * * Mechanical contrivance for creating a jet of air, consisting usually of a hinged box with flexible sides, which expands to draw in air through an inward opening valve… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”