Etymology

midriff

M3I1D2R1I1F4F4

Today it means: The middle section of the human torso, from below the chest to above the waist; the abdomen and its back part. Full definition →

Middle English midref ← Old English midrif ← Proto-West Germanic *middjahrif
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*middjahrif
  2. Old English · inherited frommidrif
  3. Middle English · inherited frommidref
  4. English todaymidriff

From Middle English midref, mydrif, from Old English midrif, midhrif (“the midriff; diaphragm”), from Proto-West Germanic *middjahrif. Equivalent to mid- + riff.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.