solar plexus
3
6.2
- noun
- /ˈsoʊlər ˈplɛksəs/
- Specialized
:
plexo solar
- When they did, Combs felt as if he had been punched in the solar plexus.
- punched in the solar plexus
- blow to the solar plexus
And it was really in a semi conscious state I was in and this Buddhist monk was smacking me in the, in the solar plexus and it was sparking.
- And it was really in a semi conscious state I was in and this Buddhist monk was smacking me in the, in the solar plexus and it was sparking.
Examples
-
She felt as though she'd taken a punch to the solar plexus.
Fiction book (2002) -
You close your eyes, and somebody places their finger below the chest bone, in the solar plexus, it semi-paralyzes the whole torso.
-
I feel it in my solar plexus, brother.
-
Start working on his solar plexus.
-
This is the solar-plexus point and it's good for all over general body relaxation.
-
I felt the blow viscerally in my solar plexus.
Fiction book (1995) -
Then she struck him in the solar plexus, just beneath the rib cage, with the stiffened fingers of her right hand.
Fiction book (1992) -
Her matter-of-factness whooshed the breath right out of me as if I'd been punched in the solar plexus.
Fiction book (1994) -
The flowers, the everlasting gulls, the patch of blue beyond the dunes—it hit a man in the solar plexus, between the eyes, in the soul.
Fiction book (1999) -
Press your finger into your solar plexus, just below your sternum.
Synonyms
A large group of nerves behind the stomach that sends messages to the organs in the belly
A group of nerves in the upper belly behind the stomach that send signals to nearby organs
A group of nerves behind the stomach that controls organs in the belly
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'solar' (sun-related, suggesting radiating) with 'plexus' (a network of nerves), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a radiating nerve network. However, the specific anatomical location behind the stomach and its autonomic function are not fully predictable from the parts alone, so the relation is partly metaphorical rather than purely compositional.
Etymology
Solar plexus may come from the way a bundle of nerves in the belly spreads out like the rays of a small sun, so solar means 'sun' and plexus means 'network'. Because this nerve center connects many body parts, a hit to the solar plexus can 'knock the wind out' of you and affect automatic functions like breathing and digestion.