belt

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A strip of leather or cloth worn around the waist to hold up clothes or for decoration.

   My trousers don't stay up without a belt.

2. 2
   noun

   A strap used for safety, such as a seat belt.

   Keep your belt fastened during the flight.

3. 3
   noun

   A continuous band in a machine that transfers motion or power.

   The motor turned a belt that ran around several wheels.

4. 4
   verb

   To fasten with a belt.

   He belted his coat tightly against the cold.

From Middle English belt, from Old English belt (“belt, girdle”), from Proto-West Germanic *baltī̆, from Proto-Germanic *baltijaz (“girdle, belt”), from Latin balteus (“belt, sword-belt”), of Etruscan origin. Cognate with Scots belt (“belt”), Dutch belt, German Balz (“belt”), Danish bælte (“belt”), Swedish bälte (“belt, cincture, girdle, zone”) and Icelandic belti (“belt”).

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