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

The King, Premier and Judd, had broad red ribbons thrown baldric fashion over breast and shoulders, of such extreme breadth as to give the idea of the wearers having burst their jugular arteries.

From Los Gringos Or, An Inside View of Mexico and California, with Wanderings in Peru, Chili, and Polynesia by Wise, H. A. (Henry Augustus)

His arms were free, and unencumbered with any defensive armour; and over his right shoulder hung a buff baldric, suspending his long, heavy sword.

From Corse de Leon, Volume I (of 2) or, The Brigand; a Romance by James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)

The headmen of the tribes and sub-tribes were made officials of the province and given a baldric bearing a brass shield with the seal of the province.

From The Career of Leonard Wood by Sears, Joseph Hamblen