swagbelly

English

Etymology

swag (“to droop; to sag”) +‎ belly

Noun

swagbelly (plural swagbellies)

A prominent, overhanging belly.
(Can we find and add a quotation of Smollett to this entry?)
- 1935, Howard, Robert Ervin, “The Haunter of the Pits”, in The Hour of the Dragon:
  He swept his gaze over the short, squat throat, the hairy swagbelly, and the mighty breast, swelling in giant arches like twin shields.
Hence, a person with such a belly.
- 1694, Motteux, Peter, transl., chapter V, in Gargantua and Pantagruel, translation of La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel by Rabelais, François, published c. 1564:
  However, so many swagbellies and puff-bags will hardly go to St Hiacco, as there did in the year 524
(medicine) Any large tumour developed in the abdomen, and neither fluctuating nor sonorous.
(Can we find and add a quotation of Dunglison to this entry?)

Synonyms

(prominent belly): See Thesaurus:paunch
(person with prominent belly): See Thesaurus:fat person

Derived terms

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for swagbelly in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

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