Your chest is the front part of your body between your neck and your stomach, where your heart and lungs are. A chest is also a large, strong box used for storing things.
“Chest” comes from Old English “ciest,” meaning box or coffer, from a Proto-Germanic root for a container. The body meaning grew from the idea of the ribcage as a kind of protective box for vital organs.
Your ribcage and a treasure chest share the same word because both are protective containers. The chest as a box guards valuables like gold; your chest guards even bigger treasures—your heart and lungs. Language quietly turned anatomy into a built-in treasure box metaphor.
Anatomical terms for the torso have been gendered in many languages, with women’s bodies often sexualized and men’s treated as neutral or default. Medical language has shifted toward 'chest' as a more neutral term in some contexts to avoid unnecessary gendering.
Use 'chest' as a neutral anatomical term when gender is irrelevant, especially in medical, fitness, or safety contexts; avoid assuming chest shape or size based on gender.
["torso","upper body"]
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