An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Bauch

by Friedrich Kluge

Bauch, m., ‘belly, bulge,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bûch, OHG. bûh (hh), m.; the corresponding AS. bûc (E. dial. buck, ‘the inner part of a carriage’) has the same meaning; OIc. búkr, ‘body, waist.’ It is uncertain whether Bauch belongs to the Sans. root bhuj (comp. Lat. fungor), ‘to take food,’ or to Sans. bhuj, ‘to bend’ (Bauch, lit. ‘the flexible part’), Perhaps it is connected with Gr φύσκα (for φυγσκα?), ‘stomach, blister’?. It is certainly not akin to AS. bodig, E. body, OHG. botah, ‘body,’ nor is it allied to Gr. φαγεῖν, ‘to eat’ (Sans. bhaj, ‘to enjoy, partake of’).