girdle
/ˈɡɝdl̩/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.81 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
That which girds, encircles, or encloses; a circumference.
Example Sentences
- "the girdle of the world"
- "Suppose within the girdle of these walls Are now confin'd two mighty monarchies"
- "from the world's girdle to the frozen pole"
- "In yonder pensile orb, and every sphere that gems the starry girdle of the year"
- "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"
- "O Queen, most exalted of Persia's deep-girdled women, venerable mother of Xerxes, wife of Darius, all hail!"
Etymology
From Middle English girdel, gerdel, gurdel, from Old English gyrdel, from Proto-West Germanic *gurdil, from Proto-Germanic *gurdilaz (“girdle, belt”), equivalent to gird + -le. Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Gäddel (“belt”), West Frisian gurdle, gurle, gurl (“belt”), Dutch gordel (“belt”), German Gürtel (“belt”), Yiddish גאַרטל (gartl, “belt”) (whence gartel, a doublet of girdle), Swedish gördel (“girdle”), Icelandic gyrðill (“girdle”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɡɝdl̩/
- British English: /ˈɡɜːdl̩/