Tudor & Stuart · insult · adjective
Gorbellied
GOR-bel-eed /ˈɡɔːbɛlid/pronunciation reconstructed — no period source gives it
First recordedbefore 1529
Big-bellied, fat, pot-bellied; used as a jeer at well-fed, prosperous people ('gorbellied knaves').
Where it was first recorded
John Skelton, Against Garnesche (before 1529): 'Gup, gorbellyd Godfrey!', per the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary; later in Elyot's Dictionary (1538) and Nashe (1596)
Also spelled: gor-bellied, gorrel-bellied
In its own time
Hang ye, gorbellied knaves, are ye undone? No, ye fat chuffs: I would your store were here!
Today
Modern exampleThe gorbellied old sofa took up half the living room.
Best used for things (a gorbellied teapot, a gorbellied sofa) or in a Shakespeare context; aimed at a person it is body-shaming.
It mocks body size; avoid using it about real people.
Questions
What does gorbellied mean?
Big-bellied, fat, pot-bellied; used as a jeer at well-fed, prosperous people ('gorbellied knaves').
When was gorbellied first used?
It is first recorded before 1529 — John Skelton, Against Garnesche (before 1529): 'Gup, gorbellyd Godfrey!', per the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary; later in Elyot's Dictionary (1538) and Nashe (1596).
Can you still use gorbellied today?
Best used for things (a gorbellied teapot, a gorbellied sofa) or in a Shakespeare context; aimed at a person it is body-shaming.
Sources
- gorbellied, adj. — Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), via Johnson's Dictionary Online
- gorbellied — Wiktionary
- A Glossary ... particularly Shakespeare and his contemporaries (new ed., vol. 1) — Robert Nares (1888 edition, archive.org)
- A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words (vol. 1) — J. O. Halliwell (1878 ed., archive.org)
- Henry IV Part 1 — The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (MIT)
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above