Disembowel
/ˌdɪs.ɪmˈbaʊ.əl/noun
To remove the entrails from a person or animal.
Did you know?Its core is the same ancient French/Latin root behind “bowel,” so English built a graphic verb by adding a prefix that means “remove or reverse.”
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
būel / būwels
“intestines, entrails”
Old French
OF
buele / boele
“bowel, intestine”
Late Middle English
English
embowelen
“to remove the entrails; to gut”
16th Century
English
disembowelen
“to disembowel; to eviscerate”
Modern English
English
disembowel
“to remove the entrails from a person or animal”