/ɡɜːθ/, /ɡɝθ/, [ɡɚθ]
OriginFrom 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”).
- countable, uncountableA band passed under the belly of an animal, which holds a saddle or a harness saddle in place.
“He was standing on the offside of his horse, holding up the flap of his saddle, with the surcingle loosened, and was pointing to the girths. Close to their attachment to the saddle they had been almos”
- countable, uncountableThe part of an animal around which the girth fits.
- countable, informal, uncountableOne's waistline circumference, most often a large one.
“He's a lusty, jolly fellow, that lives well, at least three yards in the girth.”
- countable, uncountableA small horizontal brace or girder.
- countable, uncountableThe distance measured around an object; the circumference.
- countable, uncountableThe length of the shortest cycle in a graph.
- To bind as if with a girth or band.
Formsgirths(plural) · girths(present, singular, third-person) · girthing(participle, present) · girthed(participle, past) · girthed(past)