girdle

(gʉrd'l)

noun

  1. Archaic a belt or sash for the waist
  2. anything that surrounds or encircles
  3. ☆ a woman's elasticized undergarment for supporting or molding the waist and hips
  4. the rim of a cut gem
  5. ☆ a ring made by removing bark around the trunk of a tree, so as to kill it
  6. Anat. a bony arch or encircling structure supporting the limbs: the pelvic girdle

Origin: ME girdil < OE gyrdel < base of gyrdan (see gird): akin to Ger gürtel

transitive verb girdled, girdling

  1. to surround or bind, as with a girdle
  2. to encircle
  3. ☆ to remove a ring of bark from (a tree) as by cutting or chewing

See girdle in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. a. A belt or sash worn around the waist.
    b. Something that encircles like a belt.
    c. 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.
transitive verb 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.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English girdel

Origin: , from Old English gyrdel; see gher-1 in Indo-European roots

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girdle

brilliant-cut gemstone

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