paunch
paunch Lexical Profile
paunch Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A large or protruding abdomen or belly, especially in a middle-aged or older person.
"Years of sedentary office work and rich dinners had given the retired magistrate a noticeable paunch."
The first and largest compartment of the stomach of a ruminant animal, in which food is fermented before being regurgitated as cud.
"Fibrous plant matter is initially broken down by specialized microbes inside the cow's paunch."
A thick mat made of woven rope or spun yarn, attached to a ship's rigging or yards to prevent chafing.
"The bosun ordered the crew to lash a heavy paunch to the foreyard before the gale worsened."
• verb
To disembowel or remove the entrails from (an animal, especially game such as a rabbit or deer) after hunting.
"The gamekeeper quickly paunched the rabbits in the field before hanging them in the larder."
• Rhymes for paunch
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Anglo-Norman panche and Old French pance ('belly, stomach'), which ultimately derive from Latin pantex ('paunch, bowels').