Meaning

noun the distance around a person's body

noun stable gear consisting of a band around a horse's belly that holds the saddle in place

verb tie a cinch around

originFrom Middle English girth, gerth, gyrth, from Old Norse gjǫrð, from Proto-Germanic *gerdō, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- (“to encircle, enclose; belt”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌳𐌰 (gairda), Icelandic gjörð. Also related to German Gurt, English gird, Albanian ngërthej (“to tie, bind, fasten”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0