Embowelling

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of taking out the innards from a body, often for purposes of preservation or cooking; the act of gutting an animal by opening its abdomen to remove organs; an instance of preparing a carcass by extracting internal parts for various uses
2. The act of opening a body to extract its internal organs, often for preparation or preservation purposes
3. The process involving the extraction of entrails from a carcass for cleaning or culinary use

Etymology: "Embowelling" is the present participle and gerund of "embowel," a verb formed in English from the prefix "em-" (a variant of "en-," meaning "in" or "into") and the noun "bowel." The noun came into English around the 13th century from Old French "boel," itself from Latin "botellus," a diminutive of "botulus," meaning "sausage." That sausage sense is the surprising core: the intestines were named for their resemblance to a coiled link of sausage, and the body's innards were, in effect, described as little sausages. The verb "embowel" followed in the 14th century, and it has long been used in its literal sense of removing the entrails, particularly in the old practice of disembowelling executed criminals and in the preparation of game. Its figurative use, meaning to take the essential contents out of something, appeared later and remains less common.