From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Bellows \Bel"lows\, n. sing. & pl. [OE. bely, below, belly,
bellows, AS. b[ae]lg, b[ae]lig, bag, bellows, belly. Bellows
is prop. a pl. and the orig. sense is bag. See {Belly}.]
An instrument, utensil, or machine, which, by alternate
expansion and contraction, or by rise and fall of the top,
draws in air through a valve and expels it through a tube for
various purposes, as blowing fires, ventilating mines, or
filling the pipes of an organ with wind.
[1913 Webster]
{Bellows camera}, in photography, a form of camera, which can
be drawn out like an accordion or bellows.
{Hydrostatic bellows}. See {Hydrostatic}.
{A pair of bellows}, the ordinary household instrument for
blowing fires, consisting of two nearly heart-shaped
boards with handles, connected by leather, and having a
valve and tube.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
bellows
n 1: a mechanical device that blows a strong current of air;
used to make a fire burn more fiercely or to sound a
musical instrument
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