Bowel Meaning
/ˈbaʊ.əl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA part or division of the intestines, usually the large intestine.
nounThe entrails or intestines; the internal organs of the stomach.
Sentence Examples
I have not had a bowel movement for a week.
I bleed when I have bowel movements.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor performed a colonoscopy and found inflammation in the patient's lower ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A healthy diet with plenty of fiber is good for regular ____ movements.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Middle French bouel, from Old French boïel, from Latin botellus, diminutive of botulus (“sausage”). Doublet of boyau.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And when he was hanged, brast asondre in the myddes, and all his bowels gusshed out."
— 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts:
"Leaue words & let them feele your lances pointes,
UUhich glided through the bowels of the Greekes."
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:
"His soldiers […] cried out amain, / And rushed into the bowels of the battle."
— 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], line 129:
"Thou thing of no bowels, thou!"
— c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], line 48:
"Bloody Bonner, that corpulent tyrant, full (as one said) of guts, and empty of bowels."
— 1655, Thomas Fuller, The History of Waltham Abbey:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor performed a colonoscopy and found inflammation in the patient's lower ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A healthy diet with plenty of fiber is good for regular ____ movements.