girthn.
/ɡəːθ/, U.S. /ɡərθ/ 1. † c. (See quot. 1706.) Obsolete.
a. A belt or band of leather or cloth, placed round the body of a horse or other beast of burden and drawn tight, so as to secure a saddle, pack, etc. upon its back.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [noun] > harness of draught animal > girth
girth1377
surcingle1390
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > girth
wanty1297
wame-towc1310
womb ropea1325
girth1377
surcingle1390
warrok1392
garthc1425
cinglec1430
girt1563
wanty rope1569
girse1591
saddle banda1604
mail girt1607
saddle girt1613
saddle girth1635
mail-girth1673
girding1680
body girth1688
roller1688
wombtack1729
breast-girth1805
girthing1805
cinch1866
latigo1873
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. iv. 20 Sette my sadel vppon Suffre-til-I-se-my-tyme, And lete warrok it well with Witty-wordes gerthes.
a1400 Coer de L. 5733 Brydyl and peytrel al to-brast Hys gerth, and hys stiropes alsoo.
1463 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 227 Item, payd there for gyrthys and a hors~kombe, and for mendyng of a tronke sadylle, viij.d.
?1530 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry (rev. ed.) f. xlviii Thymble, nedle, threde, point, lest yt thy gurth breke.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. xvii. sig. L3v The saddle with broken girthes was driuen from the horse.
1602 W. Segar Honor Mil. & Civill iii. xiv. 130 He who falleth by the default of his horse, the breaking of Girthes, or any such like accident.
1727 J. Swift Progr. Poetry in Misc. Last vol. 245 The Steed, oppress'd, would break his Girth, To raise the Lumber from the Earth.
1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 32 See that your girths are tight.
1841 M. Elphinstone Hist. India II. x. iii. 425 Rája Rúp Sing..running up to Aurangzib's elephant, began to cut away the girths with his sword.
1867 M. E. Herbert Cradle Lands viii. 206 One more vigorous kick, having cut the girths which held one of the saddles, the lady found herself suddenly under her steed.
b. head and girth: see head n.1 Phrases 3h.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > saddle
saddleOE
arsonc1330
sellc1425
girth1706
saddlery1711
suggan1722
straddle1825
pigskin1839
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Girth.. a saddle that is buckled and compleat for use.
d. Printing. (See quot. 1823.)
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printing machine or press > parts of printers or presses > [noun] > carriage > thongs of carriage
girt1683
girth1823
1823 G. Crabb Universal Technol. Dict. Girth, leather thongs belonging to the carriage of a printing press, by which it is let in and out.
1841 W. Savage Dict. Art of Printing Girths..They are sometimes made of Girthweb.
1851–82 in J. Ogilvie Imperial Dict.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > annular quality > ring > of stiff material
hoopa1175
girthc1356
bail1447
garter1556
girse1591
beesc1860
c1356 Durham MS. Burs. Roll Et in ccc girthes quer~culinis empt. pro cuvis et doleis in officio bracine, xvjs.
a1400–50 Alexander 5536 Þan gert he gomes for to gang, and grayth him a tonn Of grene glitterand glas with gerrethis of iren.
1483 Cath. Angl. 157/1 A Gyrthe of a vesselle, instata (A.).
3. Measurement round the circumference of any object, of which the section is approximately circular, as the human body, the trunk of a tree, etc.With quot. 1706 cf. garth n.1 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > thickness > [noun] > girth
largeur1545
bigness1615
girth1644
girt1647
garth1684
1644 J. Evelyn Sylva xxix. 92 Then cleanse the Boal of the Branches which were left, and saw it into lengths for the squaring, to which belongs the Measure and Girth (as our Workmen call it) which I refer to the Buyer.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Girth,..a Term us'd by Cock-Masters, for the Compass of a Cock's Body.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. xxiii. 223 Within the court a leafy olive grew Lofty, luxuriant, pillar~like in girth.
1812 Pennant's Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iv. 86 A fish..its length was twenty-four feet, but the girth did not exceed twelve.
1827 H. Steuart Planter's Guide (1828) 243 A strong but soft rope, of perhaps four inches in girth.
1869 E. A. Parkes Man. Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 521 There must also be a special girth of the chest.
1887 J. Ruskin Præterita II. xi. 403 Walnuts, with trunks eight or ten feet in girth.
4. Mining. (See quot. 1881, and cf. girt n. 2.)
ΚΠ
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 142 Girth, in square-set timbering, a horizontal brace in the direction of the drift.
5. transferred. That part of a horse's body where the girth is fastened.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [noun] > barrel or middle of horse > part of belly
fore-bowels1566
girting1607
girth1830
1830 J. Baxter Libr. Agric. & Hort. Knowl. 266 The girth or brisket.
6. figurative. Something that encircles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > [noun] > that which surrounds
circumscription1578
skirt1617
circumference1643
recinct1654
circumplexion1660
circumambient1682
cincture1715
cordon1792
circus1817
clasp1867
girth1871
circumcincture1884
1871 J. Miller Songs Italy (1878) 36 The ripened fields drew round a golden girth.
1872 J. S. Blackie Lays of Highlands 10 His soul this self-same moment From the girth of purging fire Leaps redeemed.
1876 A. C. Swinburne Erechtheus 1442 That is girdled about with the round sea's girth As a town with its wall.
7. U.S. (See quots.)
ΚΠ
1821 J. F. Cooper Spy II. xvi. 253 There was a heavy piece of timber laid across the girths of the barn.
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Girth, a small horizontal beam [1890 brace] or girder.
1889 Cent. Dict. Girth, in car-building, a long horizontal bracing-timber on the inside of the frame of a box-car.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
girth-buckle n.
ΚΠ
1385–6 Durham MS. Sacr. Roll In tribus paribus de Girthbokyls, vjd.
1851 M. Reid Scalp Hunters I. iv. 37 Back went the girth buckles with a ‘sneck’.
girth-groove n.
ΚΠ
1923 C. Fox Archaeol. Cambr. Region iii. 92 Cineraries of hard paste with burnished girth-grooves.
1950 Oxoniensia 15 48 A typical Oxford-style tripod-pitcher, with tubular spout and wavy applied vertical strips over rather irregular girth grooves.
girth-strap n.
ΚΠ
1897 Westm. Gaz. 8 Oct. 2/1 On the near [side] a latigo or girth strap eight feet long is looped twice through the girth buckle.
b.
girth-deep adj.
ΚΠ
1882 E. O'Donovan Merv Oasis I. 322 The horseman suddenly finds himself girth-deep in a torrent.
girth-gall v.
ΚΠ
1897 Cavalry Tactics ii. 11 Some horses are inclined to brush, others to girth gall.
girth-galled adj.
ΚΠ
1682 London Gaz. No. 1720/8 The other a bright Bay, no white but a slip on the off-side as if he had been Girth-gall'd.
girth-high adj.
ΚΠ
1908 Daily Chron. 29 Aug. 7/2 They rode girth-high through the grass.
1936 R. Campbell Mithraic Emblems 166 Girth-high, the poppies and the daisies To brush the belly of my mule.
C2. Cf. girt-buckle n. at girt n. Compounds 1, girt-galled adj. at girt n. Compounds 2; gird-sting (gird n.1 Compounds).† girth-sting n. Obsolete a piece of wood suitable for making into hoops.† girth-tree n. Obsolete = girth-sting n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > [noun] > wood for making hoops
girth-tree1344
girth-sting1496
hoop-stick1678
1496 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 282 Item, to that samyn man, for xxx and x girthstingis viijs. ixd.
1534 Aberd. Reg. XVI. 523 (Jam.) The balyes chargyt Robert Stewart pay Archd Stewart, &c. iiij lb. for 1. M. gyrchtstingis.
1534 Aberd. Reg. XVI. 656 Three hundreyth gyrthstingis.
girth-stretcher n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 400/1 Girth-stretcher, a frame in which saddle-girths are suspended and held taut ‘to take the stretch out of them’, as it is called.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > [noun] > wood for making hoops
girth-tree1344
girth-sting1496
hoop-stick1678
1344–5 Durham MS. Burs. Roll In Girthetres emp. pro vas. Cellar. et Bracinæ, iiijs. vjd.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
girthv.
/ɡəːθ/, U.S. /ɡərθ/ 1. transitive. To gird, surround, encompass.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > surround or lie around [verb (transitive)]
befong971
beclipc1000
begoc1000
belieOE
bestandc1000
to go about ——OE
umbegangc1200
behema1250
befallc1275
berunc1275
girdc1290
bihalvena1300
umlapa1300
umlaya1300
umlouka1300
umbegoc1300
belayc1320
halsea1340
enclose1340
umbelapa1350
embracec1360
betrendc1374
circlec1374
umbecasta1375
to give about1382
environa1393
umbeclipa1395
compassa1400
encircle?a1400
enourle?a1400
umbegivea1400
umbeseta1400
umbeliec1400
umbetighc1400
enroundc1420
measurec1425
umbsteadc1450
adviron?1473
purprise1481
umbeviron1489
belta1500
girtha1500
overgirda1500
engirt15..
envirea1513
round?a1513
brace1513
umbereach1513
becompass1520
circuea1533
girtc1540
umbsetc1540
circule1553
encompass1555
circulate?a1560
ingyre1568
to do about1571
engird1573
circumdate1578
succinge1578
employ1579
circuate1581
girdle1582
wheel1582
circumgyre1583
enring1589
ringa1592
embail1593
enfold1596
invier1596
stem1596
circumcingle1599
ingert1599
engirdle1602
circulize1603
circumscribe1605
begirt1608
to go round1610
enwheela1616
surround1616
shingle1621
encirculize1624
circumviron1632
beround1643
orba1644
circumference1646
becircle1648
incircuitc1650
circumcinge1657
circumtend1684
besiege1686
cincture1789
zone1795
cravat1814
encincture1820
circumvent1824
begirdle1837
perambulate1863
cordon1891
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xii. 178 Ha now god yeve me grace to do so moche that he may me girthe with my swerde.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. xiii. 49 I suld, gyrthit [L. cincta] with flambis reid Stowtly haue standyn in ȝon batale steid.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezek. xvi. 9 I gyrthed ye aboute with white sylcke, I clothed the with kerchues.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe I. x. 176 Within the four seas that girth Britain.
1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton King Arthur vii. lix They whom the seas of fabled Sirens girth.
2. To fit or bind (a horse, etc.) with a girth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [verb (transitive)] > girth
girdc1330
warrok1362
resengle1485
girth1580
cinch1866
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Cengler vn cheval, to girthe a horse.
1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Bb4/3 To girth a Horse..You girth him too hard.
1835 W. Irving Tour on Prairies xxii ‘For God's sake help me to girth this horse!’ cried another.
1898 Speaker 1 Jan. 20/2 The horse is up and saddled: Girth the old horse tight.
3. To secure (a saddle, etc.) by means of a girth; also, to girth on, up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [verb (transitive)] > girth > secure saddle with
girt1663
girtha1821
cinch1866
a1821 J. Keats Otho iii. ii, in R. M. Milnes Life, Lett. & Lit. Remains Keats (1848) II. 158 O that..Thy girdle [were] some fine zealous-pained nerve To girth my saddle!
1866 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. IX. 43 Troopers were girthing up their saddles.
1875 W. S. Hayward Love against World 93 Her saddle seemed loosely girthed on.
ΚΠ
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 97/1 Girth it [a Stool or Chair], is to bottom it with Girth Webb stret drawn and crossed.
5. To draw (a string) close round a surface which is being measured. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > measurement of other dimensions > measure other dimensions [verb (transitive)] > take the girth of > take (a string) round something
girth1825
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 544 Cornices are measured by girthing round the moulded parts.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 545 The measurer..girths round the string to the internal angle at the top of the string.
6. intransitive. To measure (so much) in girth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > measurement of other dimensions > measure other dimensions [verb (intransitive)] > ascertain girth using a measuring line > to measure (so much) in girth
girt1750
girth1858
1858 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 19 ii. 575 Some of the carrots girthed nearly 20 inches.
1868 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 2nd Ser. 4 ii. 288 He girthed 8 feet.
Derivatives
ˈgirthed adj.
ΚΠ
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. III. xxx. 207 Those which suspend themselves horizontally by means of a thread girthed round their middle.
ˈgirthing n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > girth
wanty1297
wame-towc1310
womb ropea1325
girth1377
surcingle1390
warrok1392
garthc1425
cinglec1430
girt1563
wanty rope1569
girse1591
saddle banda1604
mail girt1607
saddle girt1613
saddle girth1635
mail-girth1673
girding1680
body girth1688
roller1688
wombtack1729
breast-girth1805
girthing1805
cinch1866
latigo1873
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel iii. vi. 69 Down went the steed, the girthing broke.
1870 Daily News 31 Aug. 2 This [new pack saddle] together with a new mode of girthing, professes to prevent the rolling motion which generally galls the backs of animals.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1344
v.a1500