Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BOW'ELS, n. [plur. G. bauch; D. buik; Sw. buk; Dan. bug; Fr. boyau; W. bog; a swelling; bogel, the navel. The sense is, protuberance.]

1. The intestines of an animal; the entrails, especially of man: the heart. – 2 Cor. vi. 12.
2. The interior part of any thing; as, the bowels of the earth.
3. The seat of pity or kindness; hence, tenderness, compassion, a scriptural sense. Bowel, in the singular, is sometimes used for gut.