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girth

 - 4 dictionary results

girth

  [gurth]
–noun
1. the measure around anything; circumference.
2. a band that passes underneath a horse or other animal to hold a saddle in place, esp. one having a buckle at each end for fastening to straps running from under the flaps of the saddle.
3. something that encircles; a band or girdle.
–verb (used with object)
4. to bind or fasten with a girth.
5. to girdle; encircle.
Use girth in a Sentence
Also, girt.

Origin:
1300–50; ME girth, gerth < ON gerth girdle; akin to gird 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To girth
girth   (gûrth)   
n.  

  1. The distance around something; the circumference.

  2. Size; bulk: a person of large girth.

  3. A strap encircling an animal's body in order to secure a load or saddle on its back; a cinch.

tr.v.   girthed, girth·ing, girths

  1. To measure the circumference of.

  2. To encircle.

  3. To secure with a girth.


[Middle English gerth, girth strap, from Old Norse gjördh, girdle; see gher-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

girth 
c.1300, "belt around a horse's body," from O.N. gjorð "girdle, belt, hoop," from P.Gmc. *gertu- (cf Goth. gairda "girdle"), from the same source as gird (q.v.). Sense of "measurement around an object" first recorded 1644.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: girth
Pronunciation: 'g&rth
Function: noun
: a measure around a body
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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