Belt

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /bɛlt/

Definitions

1. A strip of material worn around the waist to hold up clothing or for decoration
2. A narrow strip of material that encircles the waist to support trousers or serve as a fashion accessory
3. A flexible band typically worn around the waist that serves to secure garments or enhance an outfit's style

Etymology: The English "belt" arrived through a chain of borrowings that begins in Italy. The Latin "balteus" meant a belt or sword-belt, and it is generally thought to come from a language of Etruscan origin, a people who lived in what is now Tuscany before Rome absorbed them. Its descendants spread north: Germanic speakers borrowed it as a word for a girdle, and that form reached Old English as "belt," the same word that now names a strip of leather or cloth worn at the waist. The Germanic branch explains why so many relatives survive. Dutch "belt," German "Balz," Danish and Norwegian "bælte" or "belte," Swedish "bälte," and Icelandic "belti" all descend from the same ancient borrowing, so a single Etruscan-named object of Roman dress became a common northern European word. The English form is strikingly old in its stock, with the Scots "belt" keeping close company with it.

Synonyms: strap, band, girdle, sash, cinch