is the Latin word for "belly" and is related to the Latin verb abdodere, "to hide," the inference being that whatever is ingested is hidden or tucked away in the abdomen. The Latin abdomen also was used figuratively for gluttony. While for us "abdomen" encom passes all structures between the diaphragm and the pelvis, the ancients probably used the term in a more restrictive sense to refer to the ventral or belly wall. Belly, incidentally, comes from an Old English word meaning "bag or sack." This is yet another instance in which the older term has become somewhat vulgar while the Latin derivative is consid ered more delicate. The patient says, "I got kicked in the belly!" while the doctor says, "This man has sustained a non-penetrating injury to the abdomen." Both are describing the same event, but the patient's account is more vivid. "Bellyache" is used Colloquial(-ism; -ly; iscious) as both a noun and a verb. As a verb it refers derisively to a common complaint of alleged malingerers.