Word of the Day.

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

borborygmus

MEANING:

noun: A rumbling noise caused by the movement of gas through the intestines.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek borborygmos (intestinal rumbling), an onomatopoeiac word to describe the sound.

NOTES:

Borborygmi are usually harmless, they are simply a result of gas movement around the stomach. And the rumbling sound doesn't mean one is hungry either. We can't really do anything about the sound of a stomach growling, but we can take comfort in the fact that at least we know a fancy word to describe it.

USAGE:

"And the piece de resistance:
'He was woken early by borborygmus as his insides fermented and his intestines ballooned with gas beyond their capacity.'"
Ruth Dudley Edwards; Book Review / Straying Into A Dark, Ugly And Sick World; The Independent (London, UK); Sep 21, 1994.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous. -Confucius, philosopher and teacher (c. 551-478 BCE)