girth
/ɡəːθ
/noun
1 [mass noun] The measurement around the middle of something, especially a person’s waist: idle men of great girth an ivy-clad tree of immense girth [count noun]: a pike with a girth of 24 inches...
- Measuring ten metres in girth, weighing 23 tons and knocking on a bit at about 800 years old, the tree is an impressive - if ungainly - sight.
- His immense height and girth made him seem like a bull, enraged and ready to charge.
- Waist and hip girths were measured standing, at the level of the umbilicus and the level of maximal gluteal protrusion, respectively.
Synonyms
circumference, width, perimeter;
size, bulk, measure
1.1A person’s waist or stomach, especially when large: he tied the knotted towels around his girth...
- I look tiny compared to the immense girth that I am now sporting.
- No doubt contributing to her girth was the circumstance of having borne her royal lover six children.
Synonyms
stomach, midriff, middle, abdomen, belly, gut
informal tummy, tum
2A band attached to a saddle and fastened around a horse’s belly to keep the saddle in place.So even if the girth gives, the saddle will stay on the horse's back....
- Leading him to a tree and commanding him to halt she hefted the saddle on and fastened the girth.
- Put the saddle on the horse, but don't tighten the girth too much right away.
Synonyms
North American cinch
verb [with object] archaic
Surround; encircle: the four seas that girth Britain
Origin
Middle English (in sense 2 of the noun): from Old Norse gjǫrth.