stomach

Everyday

1. Your stomach is the bag-like organ inside your body where food goes after you swallow it and starts to be broken down. tree →
2. People also use «stomach» for the front of the body below the chest (the tummy or belly). tree →
3. If you can't stomach something, you can't bear it or eat it. tree →

In the lessons

In science the stomach is part of the digestive system: food goes down the food pipe to the stomach, where strong acid and muscles mash it, then on to the intestines. In health lessons: a stomach ache can come from eating too much, germs or worry; «butterflies in your stomach» is the nervous feeling before something big. Phrases: stomach ache, an upset stomach, on an empty stomach, butterflies in my stomach, lie on your stomach.

Examples

• My stomach hurts because I ate too much cake. tree →
• Food goes from your mouth to your stomach. tree →
• I have butterflies in my stomach before the race. tree →
• Don't swim straight after a big meal on a full stomach if you feel unwell. tree →
• The doctor pressed on my stomach to check it. tree →
• Lie on your stomach to do this stretch. tree →
• My stomach is rumbling; it must be lunchtime. tree →
• Your stomach makes acid to help break down food. tree →
• His stomach seemed a bottomless pit. tree →

Note

Spelling trap: stomach ends in «-ach» but sounds like «STUM-uk». Plural: stomachs. «Tummy» is the children's word; «belly» is informal. Myth: the old rule that you must wait an hour after eating before swimming is not proven, but big cramps or feeling sick are reasons to rest.

In Jewish tradition

Sefer Yetzirah gives each Hebrew letter a month, a zodiac sign and a body part. Samech goes with Kislev, Sagittarius and the stomach, and the stomach is linked with sleep. In Isaiah a "stomacher" is a fine, rich breast-garment, which will be replaced by sackcloth.

Interpretation. The Sefer Yetzirah links the stomach with sleep. Isaiah's list is read as a warning that the proud pleasures of the rich women of Jerusalem will be lost.

Examples

• He produced Samech, predominant in sleep, crowned, combined, and formed Sagittarius in the world, Kislev in the year, and the stomach of man. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →
• The twelve organs of the human body are: two hands, two feet, two kidneys, gall, small intestines, liver, gullet [39] or esophagus, stomach and milt. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
• He produced Samech, predominant in Sleep, crowned it, combined and formed with it Sagittarius in the Universe, Kislev in the Year, and the stomach of Man. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle rags; and instead of curled hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; branding instead of beauty. (Prophets ISA.3.24, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Spelling trap: stomach ends in «-ach» but sounds like «STUM-uk». Plural: stomachs. «Tummy» is the children's word; «belly» is informal. Myth: the old rule that you must wait an hour after eating before swimming is not proven, but big cramps or feeling sick are reasons to rest.