belt

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun endless loop of flexible material between two rotating shafts or pulleys
  2. noun a band to tie or buckle around the body (usually at the waist)
  3. noun an elongated region where a specific condition or characteristic is found

Etymology

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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