belt: [OE] Old English belt and related Germanic forms such as Swedish bälte point to a source in Germanic *baltjaz, which was borrowed from Latin balteus, possibly a word of Etruscan origin. The verbal idiom belt up ‘be quiet’ appears to date from just before World War II.
belt (n.)
Old English belt "belt, girdle," from Proto-Germanic *baltjaz (cognates: Old High German balz, Old Norse balti, Swedish bälte), an early Germanic borrowing from Latin balteus "girdle, sword belt," said by Varro to be an Etruscan word.
As a mark of rank or distinction, mid-14c.; references to boxing championship belts date from 1812. Mechanical sense is from 1795. Transferred sense of "broad stripe encircling something" is from 1660s. Below the belt "unfair" (1889) is from pugilism. To get something under (one's) belt is to get it into one's stomach. To tighten (one's) belt "endure privation" is from 1887.
belt (v.)
early 14c., "to fasten or gird with a belt," from belt (n.). Meaning "to thrash as with a belt" is 1640s; general sense of "to hit, thrash" is attested from 1838. Colloquial meaning "to sing or speak vigorously" is from 1949. Related: Belted; belting. Hence (from the "thrash with a belt" sense) the noun meaning "a blow or stroke" (1899).
双语例句
1. Philippe was in uniform, wearing a pistol holster on his belt.
菲利普身着制服，腰带上别着手枪皮套。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Do you think it's a bit below the belt what they're doing?
你觉得他们的做法是不是有点儿不太光明正大？
来自柯林斯例句
3. They feel scared and powerless in conveyor-belt hospital wards.
在千篇一律的病房里，他们感到恐惧而又无能为力。
来自柯林斯例句
4. He's a judo black belt but he says he deplores violence.