I. ˈgərd ə l, ˈgə̄d-, ˈgəid- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English girdel, from Old English gyrdel; akin to Old High German gurtil girdle, Old Norse gyrthill girdle, Old English gyrdan to gird — more at gird
: something that girds, encircles, confines, or restrains: as
a.
(1) : a belt, sash, or article of dress encircling the body usually at the waist to fasten or confine garments or to furnish a means of carrying things (as keys or a sword)
her fingers playing … at the girdle of her frock — Donn Byrne
(2) : a cord, narrow band, or belt worn as an ecclesiastical vestment around the waist to confine the alb
(3) : a woman's close-fitting undergarment often boned and usually partly or wholly elasticized and extending from the waist or just above to below the hips for figure control
b. : either of the two more or less complete bony rings at the anterior and at the posterior ends of the vertebrate trunk supporting the arms and legs respectively — see pectoral girdle , pelvic girdle
c. : an architectural band : cincture
d. : the edge of a brilliant that is grasped by the setting — see brilliant illustration
e.
(1) : either of the two bands resembling a hoop and forming the sides of the two valves of a diatom : cingulum
(2) : the part of the shell lying between the epivalve and hypovalve in certain dinoflagellates
(3) : the muscular and spicule-bearing peripheral part of the mantle of a chiton encircling the shell plates
f. : a belt or ring made by the removal of the bark and cambium around a tree, stem, or twig
g. : a plant disease characterized by girdling of the stem or branches
II. transitive verb
( girdled ; girdled ; girdling -d( ə )liŋ ; girdles )
1. : to put a girdle on : encircle or bind about with a girdle or sash
2.
a. : to encircle as if with a belt or mesh
50,000 miles of track in operation in 1870, enough to girdle the earth twice — R.H.Brown
b. : to move or travel around : make the circuit of
two times girdled the world — Horace Sutton
these engines … girdled the earth — American Guide Series: Connecticut
a satellite girdling the moon
3.
a. : to make a circular cut around (as a tree) through the outer bark and cortex in order to produce death by interrupting the circulation of water and nutrients
b. : to remove a ring of bark from (as a tree) for the purpose of increasing productivity and size of fruit by preventing passage to the roots of food elaborated by the leaves
c. : to destroy a ring of bark and conducting tissues about or remove one from (a plant stem) — used of a gnawing animal (as a rodent or an insect) and of disease
raspberry canes girdled by crown rot
Synonyms: see surround
III. “, ˈgird ə l noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English (Scots) girdill, girdil, alteration of Middle English gridel — more at griddle
chiefly Scotland : griddle