Literal translation
to make belly
Meaning
to bulge, be swollen or prominent
Explanation
Vèntre simply means the belly, and faire vèntre reuses that word directly, the image staying exactly the same between the literal sense and everyday use: it means swelling up, taking on a rounded, bulging shape the way a belly does. The expression extends to objects or structures showing that same bulge, such as a low wall that rounds out and warps under the push of the earth it retains, or a root that pushes the ground and makes a formerly flat surface bulge. One thus says of a wall that it fait ventre to signal that it is starting to give way under internal pressure, even before it collapses outright. The register is neutral and technical, used in everyday speech as well as in building or gardening talk to describe a structural flaw or a gradual deformation. The image of the belly, a body part that naturally swells and rounds out, fits well for describing any visible bulging of a surface normally straight or flat.