bellows meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

bellows

noun

US /ˈbɛl.oʊz/ · UK /ˈbɛl.əʊz/

Etymology From Middle English belwes, plural of belu, belwe, a northern form of beli, from Old English bæliġ, northern form of bielġ, from Proto-Germanic *balgiz. Compare German Balg. See also belly. For the pronunciation /ˈbɛl.əs/, compare bodice, gallows.

A device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location. At its most simple terms a bellows is a container which is deformable in such a way as to alter its volume which has an outlet or outlets where one wishes to blow air.

When wood fires were common, so were bellows for helping start them.
That concertina was a wonder in its way. The handles that was on it first was wore out long ago, and he'd made new ones of braided rope yarn. And the bellows was patched in more places than a cranberry picker's overalls.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

Any flexible container or enclosure, as one used to cover a moving joint.

The three motors on each bogie are force ventilated from a blower mounted in the adjacent nose-end compartment of the superstructure, the air being led by ducts and flexible bellows connections to the air inlet at the commutator end of the motor.1958 June 23, “Main-Line Diesel-Electric Locomotives for the Eastern Region”, in Railway Magazine, page 394:

Archaic, Informal The lungs.

“Why, who should J. B. mean by Joe, but old Joe Bagstock—Joseph—your slave—Joe, Ma’am? Here! Here’s the man! Here are the Bagstock bellows, Ma’am!” cried the Major, striking himself a sounding blow on the chest.1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:

Arts, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Photography Flexible, light-tight enclosures connecting the lensboard and the camera back.

Figuratively That which fans the fire of hatred, jealousy, etc.

Derived terms: bellowsfish, bellowsful, bellowslike, bellows to mend, hydrostatic bellows, water-bellows
Related terms: bellowser, belly, blow

bellows

verb

To operate a bellows; to direct air at (something) using a bellows.

[…] I was recommended to the place as a man who could give another man as good as he brought, and I took it. It’s easier than bellowsing and hammering.1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC:
So bellowsed, all the kindled soul of Hugh Became a still white hell of brooding ire, And through his veins regenerating fire Ran, driving out the lethargy of pain.1915, John G. Neihardt, The Song of Hugh Glass, New York: Macmillan, Part 2, p. 34:

3 more examples

The smiths of the heavens are mending the weather; Their hammers are beating the fragments together. The cumulus mountains with nebulous gorges Are dazzled with flame of the wind-bellowsed forges;1920, Arthur Guiterman, “Thunder-Storm”, in Ballads of Old New York, New York: Harper & Bros., page 49:
He almost let the cigar go out. ‘Good God, no. We’re both exiles, aren’t we?’ He bellowsed the end red again and continued, delicate as a musician, his scoring.1966, Anthony Burgess, Tremor of Intent: An Eschatological Spy Novel, New York: Norton, Part 3, Chapter 6, p. 173:
This is a capricious devil, the furnace, though I say it myself, and it wants regular bellowsing.1999, Ferdinand Mount, chapter 10, in Jem (and Sam), New York: Carroll & Graf, page 397:

Figuratively To expand and contract like a bellows.

[…] [the dogs] sprang up, and, with a grand spraying of the crisp snow as they fleetly clambered up the steep side, they were with us in an incredibly short time, with pink tongues protruding, sides bellowsing, and sterns wagging.1904, A. R. Sennett, chapter 6, in Across the Great Saint Bernard: The Modes of Nature and the Manners of Man, London: Bemrose & Sons, page 389:
The pony still lay on his side and the wound in his throat bellowsed in and out.1933, John Steinbeck, chapter 1, in The Red Pony, New York: Viking, published 1945, page 48:

2 more examples

A sick-looking dog sat in the middle of the road, head down, sides bellowsing, white foam dripping from its muzzle to the heat-shimmering pavement.1978, Stephen King, chapter 25, in The Stand, New York: Random House, published 2012, page 196:
The old man laughed without making a sound. His chest bellowsed and he opened his mouth to display a horseshoe of gold molars.1998, Loren D. Estleman, chapter 6, in Jitterbug, New York: Tom Doherty Associates, page 53:

To fold up like a bellows; to accordion.

Without being tight […] the boot leg should fit close. The ankle should be supple as a stocking, and “bellowsed” to make sure of suppleness.1916, Roger Pocock, chapter 6, in Horses, 2nd edition, London: John Murray, published 1917, pages 170–171:
[…] the chairman of the gathered scholars […] [shushed] the black waiters preparing to feed us a hefty lunch behind the bellowsed dividing wall with the impatient yell, “You’re disturbing our meeting,” while we discussed their plight on our side of the wall.1986, Will D. Campbell, chapter 9, in Forty Acres and a Goat, Atlanta: Peachtree, page 185:

1 more example

[The bus] rolled swiftly down the hill and bellowsed five parked cars […]1994, Timothy West, I’m Here I Think, Where Are You? Letters from a touring actor, London: Hodder & Stoughton, published 1995, page 139: