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

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

From Literature

He’s almost 8 feet tall in the hat — a giant in a red tunic with gold braid, white leather gauntlets and a black sash, called a “baldric.”

From Washington Post

He also argues that it is possible to interpret Shakespeare’s 400-year-old works fully “even if I don’t know what a baldric is.”

From New York Times

And taking hold of the baldric of one of the men near, he made him unbuckle it, and threw it over the Count's shoulders.

From Project Gutenberg