Phrase guide

small intestine

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The upper part of the intestine, between the stomach and the large intestine, divided into the duodenum, the jejunum and the ileum.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the longest part of the alimentary canal; where digestion is completed

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: intestine, bowel, gut

Narrower terms: duodenum, jejunum, ileum

History

Etymology

From small + intestine, perhaps a partial calque of Middle English smaltharm, smaleþarm, from Old English smælþearme (“lower gut, small intestine”, literally “small tharm”).

Across languages

Translations

58 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: dunderm — upper part of the intestine
  • Arabic: الْأَمْعَاء الدَّقِيقَة (al-ʔamʕāʔ ad-daqīqa) — upper part of the intestine
  • Bengali: ক্ষুদ্রান্ত্র (khudrantro) — upper part of the intestine
  • Catalan: intestí prim — upper part of the intestine
  • Chinese Mandarin: 小腸 /小肠 (xiǎocháng) — upper part of the intestine
  • Czech: tenké střevo — upper part of the intestine
  • Danish: tyndtarm — upper part of the intestine
  • Dhivehi: ކުޑަ ގޮހޮރު (kuḍa gohoru) — upper part of the intestine
  • Dutch: dunne darm — upper part of the intestine
  • Finnish: ohutsuoli — upper part of the intestine
  • French: intestin grêle — upper part of the intestine
  • Galician: intestino delgado — upper part of the intestine
  • German: Dünndarm — upper part of the intestine
  • Greek: λεπτό έντερο (leptó éntero) — upper part of the intestine
  • Greenlandic: inalugaq — upper part of the intestine
  • Hungarian: vékonybél — upper part of the intestine
  • Indonesian: usus halus — upper part of the intestine
  • Ingrian: hoikkasooli — upper part of the intestine
  • Ingrian: lappasooli — upper part of the intestine
  • Italian: intestino tenue — upper part of the intestine
  • Japanese: 小腸 (shōchō) — upper part of the intestine
  • Khmer: ពោះវៀនតូច (pŭəh viən touc) — upper part of the intestine
  • Korean: 작은창자 (jageunchangja) — upper part of the intestine
  • Korean: 소장 (sojang) — upper part of the intestine
  • Northern Kurdish: rûviya zirav — upper part of the intestine
  • Latin: lactēs — upper part of the intestine
  • Macedonian: тенко црево (tenko crevo) — upper part of the intestine
  • Malay: usus kecil — upper part of the intestine
  • Malayalam: ചെറുകുടൽ (ceṟukuṭal) — upper part of the intestine
  • Manchu: ᠨᠠᡵᡥᡡᠨ ᡩᡠᡥᠠ (narhūn duha) — upper part of the intestine
  • Māori: kōpiro iti — upper part of the intestine
  • Māori: kōpiro koromeke — upper part of the intestine
  • Navajo: achʼííʼ dootłʼizhí — upper part of the intestine
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tynntarm — upper part of the intestine
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tynntarm — upper part of the intestine
  • Polish: jelito cienkie — upper part of the intestine
  • Portuguese: intestino delgado — upper part of the intestine
  • Punjabi: ਨਿੱਕੀ ਆਂਦਰ (nikkī āndar) — upper part of the intestine
  • Rapa Nui: kōkoma niro niro — upper part of the intestine
  • Romanian: intestin subțire — upper part of the intestine
  • Russian: то́нкая кишка́ (tónkaja kišká) — upper part of the intestine
  • Slovak: tenké črevo — upper part of the intestine
  • Spanish: intestino delgado — upper part of the intestine
  • Swahili: uchango — upper part of the intestine
  • Swedish: tunntarm — upper part of the intestine
  • Tagalog: maliit na bituka — upper part of the intestine
  • Tagalog: isaw — upper part of the intestine
  • Tagalog: talistis — upper part of the intestine
  • Tagalog: talitis — upper part of the intestine
  • Tamil: சிறுகுடல் (ciṟukuṭal) — upper part of the intestine
  • Telugu: చిన్న పేగు (cinna pēgu) — upper part of the intestine
  • Thai: ลําไส้เล็ก (lam-sâi-lék) — upper part of the intestine
  • Turkish: ince bağırsak — upper part of the intestine
  • Ukrainian: то́нкий кише́чник (tónkyj kyšéčnyk) — upper part of the intestine
  • Vietnamese: ruột non — upper part of the intestine
  • Volapük: ninäm smalik — upper part of the intestine
  • Waigali: satik — upper part of the intestine
  • Welsh: coluddyn bach — upper part of the intestine