Midriff

In fashion, midriff is a term for the human abdomen. The midriff is exposed when wearing a crop top or some forms of swimwear. The cholis worn by Indian women exposes a thin section of midriff, usually 3 to 4 inches.

Etymology

"Midriff" is an old term in the English language, coming into use before 1000 AD. In Old English it was written as "midhrif", with the old word "hrif" literally meaning stomach; in Middle English it was "mydryf". The word fell into obsolescence after the 18th century.

The word was revived in 1941 by the fashion industry, partly to avoid use of the word "belly" which genteel women considered undesirable in reference to their bodies, as it has connotations of obesity. ("Belly" was a word which was forbidden to be used in films by the Hays Office censors. In the 1933 film 42nd Street, for instance, in the song Shuffle Off to Buffalo, Una Merkel is about to sing the lyric "with a shotgun at his belly", but stops after the "B" of "belly" and sings "tummy" instead.)