girdle UK /ˈɡɜːdl̩/US /ˈɡɝdl̩/noun 7verb 2forms 3 noun7 •That which girds, encircles, or encloses; a circumference.Suppose within the girdle of these walls Are now confin'd two mighty monarchies — 1599 •A belt or sash at the waist, often used to support stockings or hosiery.And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles — 1611 •A garment used to hold the abdomen, hips, buttocks, and/or thighs in a particular shape. •The line of greatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting. •The clitellum of an earthworm. •The removal or inversion of a ring of bark in order to kill or stunt a tree. •A thin bed or stratum of stone. verb2 •To gird, encircle, or constrain by such means.The Equator, as everyone knows, is an imaginary line or circle girdling the Earth half-way between the North and South poles. — 1920 •To kill or stunt a tree by removing or inverting a ring of bark.The ordinary large reddish "hen hawks," which circle high above meadows, are doing great good to the farmer by feeding upon the mice and other creatures which steal his grain and girdle his trees. — 1911 formsgirdled · girdling · girdles
