- Girdle
- 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.]
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
Within the girdle of these walls. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Their breasts girded with golden girdles. --Rev. xv. 6. [1913 Webster]
2. The zodiac; also, the equator. [Poetic] --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
From the world's girdle to the frozen pole. --Cowper. [1913 Webster]
That gems the starry girdle of the year. --Campbell. [1913 Webster]
3. (Jewelry) The line ofgreatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting. See Illust. of {Brilliant}. --Knight. [1913 Webster]
4. (Mining) A thin bed or stratum of stone. --Raymond. [1913 Webster]
5. (Zo["o]l.) The clitellus of an earthworm. [1913 Webster]
{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. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
