baldric

/ˈbɔːldɹɪk/

Etymology

From Middle English baudrik, bauderik, baudry (“belt worn over the shoulder or around the waist for carrying a sword, etc., baldric; (by extension) type of leather strap”), from Old French baldré, baldrei, baudré (“crossbelt, sword-belt”) (modern French baudrier); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Frankish *balterād, from earlier *baltiraidī (“belt gear, belt equipment”) (compare Old Occitan baldrei, baudrat), from Frankish *balti (“belt”), from Latin balteus (possibly borrowed from Etruscan 𐌁𐌀𐌋𐌕𐌄𐌀 (baltea, “belt”)) + Frankish *(ga)raidī (“equipment”). However, the Oxford English Dictionary states that a derivation from balteus does not satisfactorily account for the bald- spelling in the various languages. Middle High German balderich, belderich, derived from the Old French

baldric means A broad belt, originally of leather and often richly ornamented, worn diagonally from shoulder to hip (across the breast and under the opposite arm), which was formerly used to hold a sword, a bugle, etc., and is now chiefly worn for ceremonial purposes; also (loosely), any belt. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 76 out of 100.

Why this word is great

BALDRIC — [Noun] A broad ornamental belt worn diagonally from shoulder to hip, historically supporting a sword or bugle and now surviving as ceremonial regalia. From Middle English baudrik, from Old French baudré, baldrei, of uncertain origin; possibly from Frankish *balterād, from *balti (“belt”) + *raidī (“equipment”), though the exact derivation is debated. Unlike a “sash,” which drapes for adornment but cannot bear weight, or a “holster,” which is a fitted case dependent on another belt, the baldric is the foundational architecture of readiness—the diagonal that translates a weapon’s drag into a posture of authority. It is the creak of oiled leather grounding a longsword, the sun-faded velvet on a herald’s tunic, and the empty, polished leather worn by an honor guard—a slanted line of purpose that persists long after the need for it has been ceremoniously retired, still insisting on the geometry of duty.

noun

A broad belt, originally of leather and often richly ornamented, worn diagonally from shoulder to hip (across the breast and under the opposite arm), which was formerly used to hold a sword, a bugle, etc., and is now chiefly worn for ceremonial purposes; also (loosely), any belt.“But now how many men are there proude of that that is not theyrs at al? Is there no man proude of keping another mannes gate? […] [W]hat a brag-kyng maketh a beareward wͭ [with] his ſyluer buttened bawdrike, for pride of another mannes bere?”
A (usually leather) strap from which the clapper of a bell is suspended.“[P]aid to the Collermaker of Leawsam for a bawdricke for the great bell … … … iijs.”
A necklace.“Baldrike for a ladyes necke carcan s[ubstantive] ma[le]”
The zodiac (“belt-like region of the celestial sphere, approximately eight degrees north and south of the ecliptic, which includes the apparent path of the sun, moon, and visible planets”).“[S]he [Astraea] hath novv an euerlaſting place, / Mongſt thoſe tvvelue ſignes, vvhich nightly vve doe ſee / The heauens bright-ſhining baudricke to enchace; […]”