girdle Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun an encircling or ringlike structure
noun a band of material around the waist that strengthens a skirt or trousers
cincture; waistband; sash; waistcloth.
noun a woman's close-fitting foundation garment
corset; stays.
verb cut a girdle around so as to kill by interrupting the circulation of water and nutrients
deaden.
- girdle the plant
verb put a girdle on or around
gird.
- gird your loins

OE. gurdel, girdel, AS. gyrdel, fr. gyrdan; akin to D. gordel, G. gürtel, Icel. gyrill. See Gird, v. t., to encircle, and cf. Girth, n.

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.
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.
(Jewelry) The line ofgreatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting. See Illust. of Brilliant. Knight.
(Mining) A thin bed or stratum of stone. Raymond.
(Zoöl.) The clitellus of an earthworm.

imperfect & past participle Girdled ; present participle & verbal noun Girdling

To bind with a belt or sash; to gird. Shak.
To inclose; to environ; to shut in.
Those sleeping stones, That as a waist doth girdle you about. Shak.
To make a cut or gnaw a groove around (a tree, etc.) through the bark and alburnum, thus killing it. U. S.