GIRD'LE, noun 1. A band or belt; something drawn round the waist of a person, and tied or buckled; as a girdle of fine lines; a leathern girdle 2. Inclosure; circumference. 3. The zodiac. 4. A round iron plate for baking. 5. Among jewelers, the line which encompasses the stone, parallel to the horizon. GIRD'LE, verb transitive To bind with a belt or sash; to gird. 1. To inclose; to enrivon; to shut in. 2. In America, to make a circular incision, like a belt, through the bark and alburnum of a tree to kill it.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI