midriff

English

Alternative forms

• midrif (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English mydryf, from Old English midrif, midhrif (“the midriff; diaphragm”), equivalent to mid- +‎ riff.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

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Noun

midriff (plural midriffs)

1. The middle section of the human torso, from below the chest to above the waist
   • 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XXI, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, OCLC 1227855:

     I stuck it out for about an hour and then, apprised by a hollow feeling in the midriff that the dinner hour was approaching, laid a course for home.

Translations

mid section of the human torso

• Bulgarian: талия f (talija)
• Dutch: middenrif (nl) n
• Finnish: keskivartalo (fi)
• French: ventre (fr) m
• German: Bauch (de) m; Taille (de) f

• Japanese: 横隔膜 (ja) (おうかくまく, ōkakumaku)
• Latin: praecordia n pl
• Polish: brzuch (pl) m
• Portuguese: ventre (pt) m
• Spanish: vientre (es) m

See also

• diaphragm