'To have under the girdle' definitions:

Definition of 'To have under the girdle'

From: GCIDE
  • Girdle \Gir"dle\, n. [OE. gurdel, girdel, AS. gyrdel, fr. gyrdan; akin to D. gordel, G. g["u]rtel, Icel. gyr?ill. See Gird, v. t., to encircle, and cf. Girth, n.] [1913 Webster]
  • 1. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Within the girdle of these walls. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Their breasts girded with golden girdles. --Rev. xv. 6. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. The zodiac; also, the equator. [Poetic] --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
  • From the world's girdle to the frozen pole. --Cowper. [1913 Webster]
  • That gems the starry girdle of the year. --Campbell. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. (Jewelry) The line ofgreatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting. See Illust. of Brilliant. --Knight. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. (Mining) A thin bed or stratum of stone. --Raymond. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. (Zool.) The clitellus of an earthworm. [1913 Webster]
  • Girdle bone (Anat.), the sphenethmoid. See under Sphenethmoid.
  • Girdle wheel, a spinning wheel.
  • Sea girdle (Zool.), a ctenophore. See Venus's girdle, under Venus.
  • Shoulder, Pectoral, & Pelvic, girdle. (Anat.) See under Pectoral, and Pelvic.
  • To have under the girdle, to have bound to one, that is, in subjection. [1913 Webster]