Meaning

noun an encircling or ringlike structure

noun a band of material around the waist that strengthens a skirt or trousers

noun a woman's close-fitting foundation garment

originFrom Middle English girdel, gerdel, gurdel, from Old English gyrdel, from Proto-West Germanic *gurdil, from Proto-Germanic *gurdilaz (“girdle, belt”), equivalent to gird + -le. Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Gäddel (“belt”), West Frisian gurdle, gurle, gurl (“belt”), Dutch gordel (“belt”), German Gürtel (“belt”), Yiddish גאַרטל (gartl, “belt”) (whence gartel, a doublet of girdle),…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0