Link Centre Dictionary

girth

UK/ɡɜːθ/ US/ɡɝθ/ uncommon informal
noun (2) verb (2)

noun

1.

the distance around a person''s body

2.

stable gear consisting of a band around a horse''s belly that holds the saddle in place

Synonyms

verb

1.

encircle or bind

  • “Trees girded the green fields”
Synonyms
2.

tie a cinch around

  • “cinch horses”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English girth, gerth, gyrth, from Old Norse gjǫrð, from Proto-Germanic *gerdō, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- (“to encircle, enclose; belt”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌳𐌰 (gairda), Icelandic gjörð. Also related to German Gurt, English gird, Albanian ngërthej (“to tie, bind, fasten”).

Phrases

  • breast girth
  • girth strap

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.