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That which girds, encircles, or incloses; a circumference; a belt; esp., a belt, sash, or article of dress encircling the body usually at the waist; a cestus. Within the girdle of these walls. Shak. Their breasts girded with golden girdles. Rev. xv. 6.

To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. We here create thee the first duke of Suffolk, And girt thee with the sword. Shak.

A band or strap which encircles the body; especially, one by which a saddle is fastened upon the back of a horse.

A body of troops, or of men or animals, drawn up in a circle; -- a military formation used by the Romans, answering to the modern infantry square. Him round A globe of fiery seraphim inclosed. Milton. Globe amaranth (Bot.), a plant of the genus Gomphrena (G. globosa), bearing round heads of variously colored flowers, w…

s of the sphere into the sine of 45º. -- Globular sailing, sailing on the arc of a great circle, or so as to make the shortest distance between two places; circular sailing.

The index of the hour circle of a globe.

pertaining to the gnomon, or the art of dialing. Gnomonic projection, a projection of the circles of the sphere, in which the point of sight is taken at the center of the sphere, and the principal plane is tangent to the surface of the sphere. "The gnomonic projection derives its name from the connection between the me…

To be passed on fron one to another; to pass; to circulate; hence, with for, to have currency; to be taken, accepted, or regarded. The man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. 1 Sa. xvii. 12. [The money] should go according to its true value. Locke.

als are placed. These arms turn about a fixed point, which is the center of the graduated circle or semicircle upon which the angle is read off. -- Reflecting goniometer, an instrument for measuring the angles of crystals by determining through what angular space the crystal must be turned so that two rays reflected f…

The groove of a pulley. Gorge circle (Gearing), the outline of the smallest cross section of a hyperboloid of revolution. -- Gorge hook, two fishhooks, separated by a piece of lead. Knight.

cluster, usually nine in number, of small iron balls, put together by means of cast-iron circular plates at top and bottom, with two rings, and a central connecting rod, in order to be used as a charge for a cannon. Formerly grapeshot were inclosed in canvas bags.

Not called for by the circumstances; without reason, cause, or proof; adopted or asserted without any good ground; as, a gratuitous assumption. Acts of gratuitous self-humiliation. De Quincye. -- Gra*tu"i*tous*ly, adv. -- Gra*tu"i*tous*ness, n.

A flat, circular stone, revolving on an axle, for grinding or sharpening tools, or shaping or smoothing objects. To hold, pat, or bring one's nose to the grindstone, to oppress one; to keep one in a condition of servitude. They might be ashamed, for lack of courage, to suffer the Lacedæmonians to hold their noses to th…

In rope making, a given size of rope, common grist being a rope three inches in circumference, with twenty yarns in each of the three strands. Knight. All is grist that comes to his mill, all that he has anything to do with is a source of profit. [Colloq.] -- To bring grist to the maill, to bring profitable business in…

A conducting connection with the earth, whereby the earth is made part of an electrical circuit.

Cautious; wary; circumspect; as, he was guarded in his expressions; framed or uttered with caution; as, his expressions were guarded. -- Guard"edly, adv. -- Guard"ed*ness, n.

rm of two or more bands or strings twisted over each other in a continued series, leaving circular openings which are filled with round ornaments.

Moving in a circular path or way; whirling; gyratory.

Winding or coiled round; curved into a circle; taking a circular course.

The act of turning or whirling, as around a fixed center; a circular or spiral motion; motion about an axis; rotation; revolution. The gyrations of an ascending balloon. De Quincey. If a burning coal be nimbly moved round in a circle, with gyrations continually repeated, the whole circle will appear like fire. Sir I. N…