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girdle

girdle


gir·dle    Audio Help   (gûr'dl)   

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.

  2. A band made around the trunk of a tree by the removal of a strip of bark.

  3. The edge of a cut gem held by the setting.

  4. Anatomy The pelvic or pectoral girdle.

tr.v.   gir·dled, gir·dling, gir·dles

  1. To encircle with or as if with a belt. See Synonyms at surround.

  2. To circle around: a ring of hills that girdled the city.

  3. 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.]
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