baldric

or bal·drick

[bawl-drik]

noun

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

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

Related formsbal·dricked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for baldrick

Historical Examples of baldrick

With an oath he got out a dagger that hung from his baldrick.
The Suitors of Yvonne
Raphael Sabatini
In raising her father's remains she found under them a baldrick in which his sword had hung, embroidered by her own hands.
Sarchedon
G. J. (George John) Whyte-Melville
It was D'Artagnan's sword, which, slipping from his baldrick, had fallen on the sonorous flooring.
The Vicomte de Bragelonne
Alexandre Dumas
If the baldrick hung with bells was worn out in parts, he cut those pieces away and turned the baldrick into a belt.
English Costume
Dion Clayton Calthrop
His sceptre, spurs, baldrick and scabbard were also of gold, and his fingers blazed with diamonds.
Freaks of Fanaticism
Sabine Baring-Gould

British Dictionary definitions for baldrick

baldric

noun

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

Word Origin for baldric

C13: from Old French baudrei, of Frankish origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for baldrick

baldric

c.1300, "belt worn over the shoulder," from Old French baldre (Modern French baudrier "shoulder-belt"), which probably is from Latin balteus "belt," said by Varro to be of Etruscan origin. The English word perhaps influenced by Middle High German balderich (which itself is from the Old French).