Girdle definition | Dictionary.com

Synonyms

belt, cincture, compass, encompass, gird, ring, beset, circle, encircle, environ, hedge, hem

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Girdle - 11 dictionary results

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gir⋅dle

[gur-dl]

noun, verb, -dled, -dling.

–noun

1.	a lightweight undergarment, worn esp. by women, often partly or entirely of elastic or boned, for supporting and giving a slimmer appearance to the abdomen, hips, and buttocks.

2.	a belt, cord, sash, or the like, worn about the waist.

3.	anything that encircles, confines, or limits.

4.	Jewelry. the edge or narrow band between the upper and lower facets of a gem.

5.	Anatomy. the bony framework that unites the upper or lower extremities to the axial skeleton.

6.	Architecture. an ornamental band, esp. one surrounding the shaft of a column.

7.	a ring made about a tree trunk, branch, etc., by removing a band of bark.

–verb (used with object)

8.	to encircle with a belt; gird.

9.	to encompass; enclose; encircle.

10.	to move around (something or someone) in a circle.

11.	to cut away the bark and cambium in a ring around (a tree, branch, etc.).

12.	Jewelry. round (def. 51).

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE gyrdel, deriv. of girdan to gird ¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : Girdle

Spanish:

cinto,

German:

der Gürtel,

Japanese:

帯

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gir·dle (gûr'dl) Pronunciation Key

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n.

1. A belt or sash worn around the waist.
2. Something that encircles like a belt.
3. An elasticized, flexible undergarment worn over the waist and hips, especially by women, to give the body a more slender appearance.
A band made around the trunk of a tree by the removal of a strip of bark.
The edge of a cut gem held by the setting.
Anatomy The pelvic or pectoral girdle.

tr.v. gir·dled, gir·dling, gir·dles

To encircle with or as if with a belt. See Synonyms at surround.
To circle around: a ring of hills that girdled the city.
To remove a band of bark and cambium from the circumference of (a tree), usually in order to kill it.

[Middle English girdel, from Old English gyrdel; see gher-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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girdle

O.E. gyrdel "belt, sash, cord about the waist," common Gmc. (cf. O.N. gyrðill, O.Fris. gerdel, Ger. gürtel "belt"), related to O.E. gyrdan "to gird" (see gird). Modern euphemistic sense of "elastic corset" first recorded 1925.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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girdle
noun
1.	an encircling or ringlike structure
2.	a band of material around the waist that strengthens a skirt or trousers
3.	a woman's close-fitting foundation garment [syn: corset]
verb
1.	cut a girdle around so as to kill by interrupting the circulation of water and nutrients; "girdle the plant"
2.	put a girdle on or around; "gird your loins"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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girdle (gûr'dl) Pronunciation Key

To kill a tree or woody shrub by removing or destroying a band of bark and cambium from its circumference. The plants die because the distribution of food down from the leaves (through the phloem) and sometimes the flow of water and nutrients up from the roots (through the xylem) is disrupted, and the cambium can no longer regenerate these vascular tissues to repair the damage. Unwanted trees, such as invasive or nonnative species, are often eliminated by girdling. Some plant diseases kill trees by destroying a ring of cambium and so girdling them. Gnawing animals, especially rodents, can also girdle trees.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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girdle gir·dle (gûr'dl)
n.

Something that encircles like a belt.
An elasticized, flexible undergarment worn over the waist and hips.
The pelvic or pectoral girdle.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Main Entry: gir·dle
Pronunciation: 'g&rd-^&1
Function: noun
: either of two more or less complete bony rings at the anterior andposterior ends of the vertebrate trunk supporting the arms and legs respectively: a : PECTORAL GIRDLE b : PELVIC GIRDLE

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Girdle

Gir"dle\, n. A griddle. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Girdle

Gir"dle\, n. [OE. gurdel, girdel, AS. gyrdel, fr. gyrdan; akin to D. gordel, G. g["u]rtel, Icel. gyr?ill. See Gird, v. t., to encircle, and cf. Girth, n.]

1. That which girds, encircles, or incloses; a circumference; a belt; esp., a belt, sash, or article of dress encircling the body usually at the waist; a cestus.

Within the girdle of these walls. --Shak.

Their breasts girded with golden girdles. --Rev. xv. 6.

2. The zodiac; also, the equator. [Poetic] --Bacon.

From the world's girdle to the frozen pole. --Cowper.

That gems the starry girdle of the year. --Campbell.

3. (Jewelry) The line ofgreatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting. See Illust. of Brilliant. --Knight.

4. (Mining) A thin bed or stratum of stone. --Raymond.

5. (Zo["o]l.) The clitellus of an earthworm.

Girdle bone (Anat.), the sphenethmoid. See under Sphenethmoid.

Girdle wheel, a spinning wheel.

Sea girdle (Zo["o]l.), a ctenophore. See Venus's girdle, under Venus.

Shoulder, Pectoral, & Pelvic, girdle. (Anat.) See under Pectoral, and Pelvic.

To have under the girdle, to have bound to one, that is, in subjection.

Girdle

Gir"dle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Girdled; p. pr. & vb. n. Girdling.]

1. To bind with a belt or sash; to gird. --Shak.

2. To inclose; to environ; to shut in.

Those sleeping stones, That as a waist doth girdle you about. --Shak.

3. To make a cut or gnaw a groove around (a tree, etc.) through the bark and alburnum, thus killing it. [U. S.]

Girdle

(1.) Heb. hagor, a girdle of any kind worn by soldiers (1 Sam. 18:4; 2 Sam. 20:8; 1 Kings 2:5; 2 Kings 3:21) or women (Isa. 3:24). (2.) Heb. 'ezor, something "bound," worn by prophets (2 Kings 1:8; Jer. 13:1), soldiers (Isa. 5:27; 2 Sam. 20:8; Ezek. 23:15), Kings (Job 12:18). (3.) Heb. mezah, a "band," a girdle worn by men alone (Ps. 109:19; Isa. 22:21). (4.) Heb. 'abnet, the girdle of sacerdotal and state officers (Ex. 28:4, 39, 40; 29:9; 39:29). (5.) Heb. hesheb, the "curious girdle" (Ex. 28:8; R.V., "cunningly woven band") was attached to the ephod, and was made of the same material. The common girdle was made of leather (2 Kings 1:8; Matt. 3:4); a finer sort of linen (Jer. 13:1; Ezek. 16:10; Dan. 10:5). Girdles of sackcloth were worn in token of sorrow (Isa. 3:24; 22:12). They were variously fastened to the wearer (Mark 1:6; Jer. 13:1; Ezek. 16:10). The girdle was a symbol of strength and power (Job 12:18, 21; 30:11; Isa. 22:21; 45:5). "Righteousness and faithfulness" are the girdle of the Messiah (Isa. 11:5). Girdles were used as purses or pockets (Matt. 10:9. A. V., "purses;" R.V., marg., "girdles." Also Mark 6:8).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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