girth

Pronunciation: /ɡɝθ/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the distance around a person's body
  2. noun stable gear consisting of a band around a horse's belly that holds the saddle in place
  3. verb tie a cinch around

Etymology

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”).

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
circumference
Narrower (hyponyms)
spread

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