Pronunciation: ab-do-men.

Etymology: Abdomen is derived from the Latin for belly. Likely, it came from abdere (to conceal) in the sense that the abdomen conceals the viscera.

Abdomen (n.) is a zoological term, which is used in a technical sense for the vertebrates, arthropods, some polychaete worms, and the tunicates to identify the lower body region that houses the digestive tract.

By Jack R. Holt. Last revised: 01/13/2009