Wammikin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A little belly or paunch, a diminutive term used in Scots dialect for a rounded stomach
2. A small, rounded belly, a dialect word from Scotland for a modest paunch or potbelly
3. The diminutive Scots term for a little stomach, typically one that is rounded and protruding

Etymology: "Wammikin" is a rare English noun meaning a little rounded belly, and its origin lies in an Algonquian language spoken in the Maine region of what is now the northeastern United States. English speakers borrowed it from there, so the word is a loanword rather than anything built from English or Latin parts. The closest relative in English is "wannigan," a word that also came from Algonquian speakers and that English adopted for a supply box or a camp's store of provisions. The two words are related through their shared Algonquian source, which is why they look and sound alike. Only the "wannigan" line of the story has reached general dictionaries, so "wammikin" remains a much more obscure survivor of that same borrowing.