surcingle

American  

[sur-sing-guhl] / ˈsɜrˌsɪŋ gəl /

noun

1. a belt or girth that passes around the belly of a horse and over the blanket, pack, saddle, etc., and is buckled on the horse's back.

2. a beltlike fastening for a garment, especially a cassock.

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surcingle British  

/ ˈsɜːˌsɪŋɡəl /

noun

1. a girth for a horse which goes around the body, used esp with a racing saddle

2. the belt worn with a cassock

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verb

1. to put a surcingle on or over (a horse)

Etymology

Origin of surcingle

1350–1400; Middle English surcengle < Middle French, equivalent to sur- sur- ¹ + cengle belt < Latin cingulum; see cingulum

Example Sentences

The saddle should be kept in its place by the elastic webbing girths, and not, as the common error is—probably from the facility of tightening it—by the hard, unyielding, leather surcingle.

From Hints on Horsemanship, to a Nephew and Niece or, Common Sense and Common Errors in Common Riding by Greenwood, George

Then he sat down and made a copy of it, idealizing it by injecting a few "betterments," then trotted it out for inspection with tail and mane plaited and bells on its patent-leather surcingle.

From Deep Furrows by Moorhouse, Hopkins

When the horse has hopped for as long as you think necessary to tire him, buckle a common single strap roller or surcingle on his body tolerably tight.

From A New Illustrated Edition of J. S. Rarey's Art of Taming Horses With the Substance of the Lectures at the Round House, and Additional Chapters on Horsemanship and Hunting, for the Young and Timid by Rarey, J. S. (John Solomon)

Taking the robe from my shoulders, I spread it over the back of my horse; and employing a piece of the laryette as a surcingle, I bound it fast.

From The Wild Huntress Love in the Wilderness by Reid, Mayne

The girth and surcingle are of leather, with an ordinary woolen saddle-blanket.

From The Prairie Traveler A Hand-book for Overland Expeditions by Marcy, Randolph Barnes