Etymograph

English

belt

Belt comes from Old English belt ‘belt, girdle’, and goes back to Latin balteus.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbalteus1‘belt’
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*baltijaz1‘girdle’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*baltī̆1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150belt1‘belt’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500belt1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1980belt1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English belt
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1980, B. C. Burchfiel, Foreland Fold and Thrust Belts—Review: “Most foreland fold and thrust belts are linear or…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbalteusWiktionary, English belt‘belt’
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*baltijazWiktionary, English belt‘girdle’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*baltī̆Wiktionary, English beltreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150beltWiktionary, English belt‘belt’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500beltWiktionary, English belt
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1980beltWiktionary, English belt. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1980, B. C. Burchfiel, Foreland Fold and Thrust Belts—Review: “Most foreland fold and thrust belts are linear or…”

Explore everything descended from balteus →

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

noun A band worn around the waist to hold clothing to one's body (usually pants), hold weapons (such as a gun or sword), or serve as a decorative piece of clothing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “belt”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin balteus / belt