Girdle — Defs

01 n. A griddle.

02 n. That which girds, encircles, or incloses; a circumference; a belt; esp., a belt, sash, or article of dress encircling the body usually at t…

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.
“Within the girdle of these walls.” — Shak.

“Their breasts girded with golden girdles.” — Rev. xv. 6.
2.
The zodiac; also, the equator.[Poetic]
“From the world's girdle to the frozen pole.” — Cowper.

“That gems the starry girdle of the year.” — Campbell.
3.
The line ofgreatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting. See Illust. of Brilliant.(Jewelry) See: Brilliant
4.
A thin bed or stratum of stone.(Mining)
5.
The clitellus of an earthworm.(Zool.)

Phrases & compounds

Girdle bone — the sphenethmoid. See under Sphenethmoid.

Girdle wheel — a spinning wheel.

Sea girdle — a ctenophore. See Venus's girdle, under Venus.

Shoulder, Pectoral, & Pelvic, girdle — See under Pectoral, and Pelvic.

To have under the girdle — to have bound to one, that is, in subjection.

03 v. t. To bind with a belt or sash; to gird.

imp. & p. p. Girdled; p. pr. & vb. n. Girdling

1.
To bind with a belt or sash; to gird.
2.
To inclose; to environ; to shut in.
“Those sleeping stones, That as a waist doth girdle you about.” — Shak.
3.
To make a cut or gnaw a groove around (a tree, etc.) through the bark and alburnum, thus killing it.[U. S.]