womb

Meaning

Noun

1. In female mammals, the organ in which the young are conceived and grow until birth; the uterus.
2. (obsolete) The abdomen or stomach.
3. (obsolete) The stomach of a person or creature.
4. (figuratively) A place where something is made or formed.
5. Any cavity containing and enveloping anything.

Verb

To enclose in a womb, or as if in a womb; to breed or hold in secret.

Synonyms

uterus

belly

stomach

matrix

tummy

venter

placenta

nest

foetus

maw

metro

🚇

origin

paunch

smooth muscle

son

source

string bag

twins

uteri

uterine

vulva

ward

amniotic sac

evil spirits

uterine cervix

pregnancy

myometrium

fetal membrane

uterine body

metra

paramesonephric duct

hystero

hystera

hyster

Tzukung

abdomen

Müllerian duct

adopted child

afterbirth

birth

birthplace

breast

cast

endometrium

Translations

utérus

Gebärmutter

utero

matriz

útero

baarmoeder

matrice

Uterus

útero

μήτρα

vientre

ventre

uterus

grembo

uterus

Pronounced as (IPA)

/wuːm/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: wombe

Inherited from Old English: womb

Cognate with Scots: wam

Cognate with Dutch: wam

Cognate with German: Wamme

Cognate with Danish: vom

Cognate with Swedish: våmb

Cognate with Norwegian: vom

Cognate with Icelandic: vömb

Cognate with Old Welsh: gumbelauc

Cognate with Breton: gwamm

Cognate with Sanskrit: वपा

In summary

From Middle English wombe, wambe, from Old English womb, wamb (“belly, stomach; bowels; heart; womb; hollow”), from Proto-West Germanic *wambu, from Proto-Germanic *wambō (“belly, stomach, abdomen”). Cognate with Scots wam, wame (“womb”), Dutch wam (“dewlap of beef; belly of a fish”), German Wamme, Wampe (“paunch, belly”), Danish vom (“belly, paunch, rumen”), Swedish våmb (“belly, stomach, rumen”), Norwegian vom (“rumen”), Icelandic vömb (“belly, abdomen, stomach”), Old Welsh gumbelauc (“womb”), Breton gwamm (“woman, wife”), Sanskrit वपा (vapā́, “the skin or membrane lining the intestines or parts of the viscera, the caul or omentum”). Superseded non-native Middle English mater, matere (“womb”) and matris, matrice (“womb”) borrowed from Latin māter (“womb”) and Old French matrice (“womb”), respectively.