girth
/ɡɝθ/noun, verb
girth is spelled G-I-R-T-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, girth means “A band passed under the belly of an animal, which holds a saddle or a harness saddle in place” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of girth is girths.
How many letters and syllables are in girth?
| Letters | 5: G-I-R-T-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is girth?
Girth appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce girth?
- UK /ɡɜːθ/
- US /ɡɝθ/
- US [ɡɚθ]
Girth has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-girth.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with girth?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as girth from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹθ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: right.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of girth
- girths plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- girthing participle, present
- girthed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does girth mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A band passed under the belly of an animal, which holds a saddle or a harness saddle in place.
- 2
The part of an animal around which the girth fits.
- 3
informalOne's waistline circumference, most often a large one.
- 4
A small horizontal brace or girder.
- 5
The distance measured around an object; the circumference.
- 6
The length of the shortest cycle in a graph.
verb
- 1
To bind as if with a girth or band.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Girth in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sangle , circonférence, tour , maille |
| German | Sattelgurt , Umfang |
| Portuguese | cilha , circunferência , cintura |
| Spanish | cincha , cintura |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does girth come from?
From 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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).