girth

English

Old Norse gjǫrð (whence the Icelandic gjörð), akin to Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌳𐌰 (gairda), German Gurt. Cognate with Albanian ngërthej (“to tie, bind, fasten”).

girth (plural girths)

The distance measured around an object.
A band passed under the belly of an animal to hold various types of saddles in place.
- 1929, Baldwyn Dyke Acland, chapter 8, Filibuster^[1]:
  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 almost cut through with a knife.
(informal) One's waistline circumference, most often a large one.

the distance measured around an object

equipment

girth (third-person singular simple present girths, present participle girthing, simple past and past participle girthed)

To bind as if with a girth or band.
(Can we find and add a quotation of Johnson to this entry?)

This page is available in 19 languages