Etymologically
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belt

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Pronunciation

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
  • 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