Wash-belly

noun WASH-BEL-ly wɑʃ ˈbɛli

Also spelled wash belly, washbelly

The last-born child of a family — the baby of the household, often especially cherished and indulged as the final child a mother will bear. To be the 'wash-belly' is to be the youngest, with all the doting, spoiling, and teasing that comes with that place, held tender and a little apart as the last of the line. The vivid name marks the child that 'washes out' the mother's childbearing, and it carries the whole warm, slightly envied position of the pet and baby of the family.

  • Him a di wash-belly, so him madda spoil him.

    He's the last-born, so his mother spoils him.

  • Di wash-belly always get weh wid everyting.

    The baby of the family always gets away with everything.

  • She a mi madda wash-belly, di baby a di family.

    She's my mother's last child, the baby of the family.

A figurative name for the last child — the one that 'washes out' the belly/womb, the final one a mother carries.

Affectionate term for the youngest child, carrying connotations of being pampered.