belt

Pronunciation

• IPA: /belt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English belt, inherited from Old English belt,^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *baltjaz, the source also of Old High German balz and Old Norse belti,^[2][3][5] an early Germanic borrowing of Latin balteus (“girdle, sword belt”),^[2][3][4] which Varro says is an Etruscan word.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A broad flat strip of leather or similar material worn around the waist: before 1000 in the OED.^[6][3]

Semantic evolution

As a mark of rank or distinction it is from the mid-14th century,^[2][6] and boxing championship belts from 1812.^[2] A broad stripe encircling something is from the 1660s,^[2] and a broad strip or tract of any kind, without the idea of encircling, as in Bible belt, by 1808.^[2] The mechanical belt that drives wheels is from 1795.^[2] Below the belt, unfair, is from 1889, from boxing;^[2][6] under one's belt was at first literal, in one's stomach (1839), and figurative by 1931.^[2] Tighten one's belt is from 1841 in the OED.^[6] The verb, to fasten with a belt, is from the early 14th century,^[2] to thrash with a belt from the 1640s, and to hit in general from 1838.^[2] To sing or speak forcefully is from 1949.^[2]

Timeline

• a. 1000 – a waist band.^[6]
• c. 1340 – a mark of rank.^[6]
• 1795 – a machine belt.^[2]
• 1808 – a zone or tract.^[2]
• 1838 – verb, to hit.^[2]
• 1889 – below the belt.^[2][6]
• 1949 – to sing loudly.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A band of leather or cloth worn around the waist.
2. A long area with particular features; a zone: the corn belt.
3. A loop of material that drives wheels or carries things in a machine: a conveyor belt.
4. A seat belt.
5. A belt worn as a sign of rank, as in judo or karate.

Verb

1. To fasten with a belt.
2. (informal) To hit hard.
3. (informal) To sing loudly and forcefully.

Word family

• belted
• beltless
• belt up

Related words

• baldric

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press