What does bowel mean?
A bowel is the portion of the digestive system that lies below the stomach — chiefly the small and large intestine — through which food travels as nutrients are absorbed and waste is formed. In everyday and medical usage the plural 'bowels' is common, as in 'irritable bowel syndrome' or 'a bowel movement,' while the singular often appears in clinical phrases such as 'small bowel' or 'large bowel.' Though fundamentally an anatomical term with a somewhat formal register, 'bowel' also carries a vivid figurative use: writers speak of 'the bowels of the earth' or 'the bowels of a ship' to describe the deep interior of something vast. The word descends from Old French 'boel,' ultimately from Latin 'botellus,' meaning a small sausage — a reminder that many anatomical names began as homely metaphors for the shapes they described.
Any part of the intestine, especially the lower alimentary canal below the stomach; the small or large intestine.
"Doctors removed a polyp from her large bowel during the procedure."
Often used attributively in medical contexts, as in 'bowel cancer' or 'bowel obstruction.'
The intestines considered collectively; figuratively, the innermost or deepest part of something.
"Miners worked deep in the bowels of the mountain."
The plural 'bowels' is the default form when speaking of the intestines in general or of digestion and excretion; it is also used figuratively for the deep interior of a place or thing.
"He complained of pain in his bowels after the rich meal."
The word 'bowel' shares its ancient root with 'boulevard' — both trace back to a Germanic word for leather, because early anatomists thought the gut looked like rolled-up hide.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bowel
The word 'bowel' entered Middle English from Old French 'boel,' which derived from the Latin diminutive 'botellus,' meaning a small sausage or intestine. This Latin root is related to 'botulus,' the ordinary word for sausage, reflecting the ancient practice of naming internal organs after familiar foodstuffs of similar shape. Cognate forms appear across Romance languages, such as French 'boyau,' and the same Latin lineage gives us English 'boulevard' via Dutch, since the word originally referred to ramparts built with materials including packed earth or refuse.
Related word forms
How bowel is actually used
'Bowel' is primarily a formal or medical term; in casual speech, people more often say 'gut' or 'stomach.' The plural 'bowels' is standard when referring to the organ generally ('inflammation of the bowels'). A figurative sense uses 'the bowels of' to mean the innermost or most remote part of something (as in 'the bowels of the earth'), which is literary rather than clinical.
Easily confused with bowel
A bowel is an internal organ of digestion, while a towel is a cloth used for drying; the two words rhyme but are entirely unrelated in meaning.