girdlen. A griddle.()n.[OE. gurdel, girdel, AS. gyrdel, fr. gyrdan; akin to D. gordel, G. grtel, Icel. gyrill. See Gird, v. t., to encircle, and cf. Girth, n.]()1. That which girds, encircles, or incloses; a circumference; a belt; esp., a belt, sash, or article of dress encircling the body usually at the waist; a cestus.() Within the girdle of these walls. (Shak.)Their breasts girded with golden girdles. (Rev. xv. 6.)2. The zodiac; also, the equator.(Bacon.)From the world's girdle to the frozen pole. (Cowper.)That gems the starry girdle of the year. (Campbell.)3. (Jewelry) The line ofgreatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting. See Illust. of Brilliant.(Knight.)4. (Mining) A thin bed or stratum of stone.(Raymond.)5. (Zol.) The clitellus of an earthworm.()Girdle bone (Anat.), the sphenethmoid. See under Sphenethmoid. -- Girdle wheel, a spinning wheel. -- Sea girdle (Zol.), a ctenophore. See Venus's girdle, under Venus. -- Shoulder, Pectoral, and Pelvic, girdle. (Anat.) See under Pectoral, and Pelvic. -- To have under the girdle, to have bound to one, that is, in subjection.()v. t.1. To bind with a belt or sash; to gird.(Shak.)2. To inclose; to environ; to shut in.()Those sleeping stones,
That as a waist doth girdle you about. (Shak.)3. To make a cut or gnaw a groove around (a tree, etc.) through the bark and alburnum, thus killing it.()