Embowels

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To extract the internal organs of a body, particularly those of a corpse, and to figuratively cause profound emotional distress or turmoil through intense feelings of dread or despair
2. The act of removing organs from a body for various purposes, often associated with bodily dissection, along with the capacity to incite deep emotional suffering or anguish in someone
3. This term describes both the physical process of organ removal from a cadaver and the metaphorical impact of evoking strong, negative emotions in an individual, leading to feelings of helplessness or pain

Etymology: "Embowels" is the third-person singular present form of "embowel," a verb meaning to remove the internal organs of an animal or person. The verb is built from the prefix "em-," which turns a noun into a verb meaning "to put into or cover with," and "bowel," which comes from Latin "botellus," a diminutive of "botulus," meaning "sausage." The Latin word was used for the intestines, which were imagined as coiled like sausage links. Over time "bowel" came to mean the intestines, and the prefixed verb took on the sense of taking them out rather than putting them in.

Synonyms: eviscerates, disembowels