English: 1. (of Norman origin): nickname from Old French beu, bel ‘fair’, ‘lovely’ + chere ‘face’, ‘countenance’. Although it originally meant ‘face’, the word chere later came to mean also ‘demeanor’, ‘disposition’ (hence English cheer), and the nickname may thus also have denoted a person of pleasant, cheerful disposition. There has been some confusion with Bowser. 2. nickname for someone given to belching. See Balch.

FOREBEARS: Andrew Belcher came before 1654 from London, England, to Cambridge, MA, where he kept a tavern. His family was originally from Wiltshire. His descendant Jonathan Belcher (1682-1757), a weathy merchant, was governor of MA and NH. Subsequently, as governor of NJ, he was one of the founders of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton).

See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.