baldric

American  

[bawl-drik] / ˈbɔl drɪk /

Or baldrick

noun

1. a belt, sometimes richly ornamented, worn diagonally from shoulder to hip, supporting a sword, horn, etc.

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baldric British  

/ ˈbɔːldrɪk /

noun

1. a wide silk sash or leather belt worn over the right shoulder to the left hip for carrying a sword, etc

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Other Word Forms

• baldricked
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of baldric

1250–1300; Middle English bauderik, bawdryk, baudry < Anglo-French baudré, baldré, Old French baldrei, baudré, perhaps < Frankish *baltirad sword belt, equivalent to Latin balte ( us ) belt + Germanic *-rad provision, equipment (compare Old High German rat ); source of final -ik uncertain

Example Sentences

Buckles may have been used on a baldric - or sword-belt - and so the mystery object may have been a matching mount.

From BBC • Jul. 10, 2021

On a baldric he wore a great horn tipped with silver that now was laid upon his knees.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Presently a couple of horsemen issued from the forest, clad in hunters' attire, with a green baldric over their shoulders and down to their waists, from which was suspended a hunter's horn.

From The Last of the Vikings by Bowling, John

The soldier beside him with the green facings and green-and-gold stock is one of the Twenty-fourth Foot—a sergeant by his baldric and cross-spear.

From Cardigan by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)

God! how bravely showed the shield about his neck, the helmet on his head, and the fringes of the baldric upon his left thigh.

From Aucassin & Nicolette And Other Mediaeval Romances and Legends by Mason, Eugene