/ˈgərdl/
Noun, pl. girdles
1. Either of two sets of bones encircling the body, to which the limbs are attached. (Google Dictionary)
2. A ring around a tree made by removing bark. (Google Dictionary)
Verb
1. Encircle (the body) with or as a girdle or belt. (Google Dictionary)
2. Surround; encircle. (Google Dictionary)
3. Cut through the bark all the way around (a tree or branch), typically in order to kill it or to kill a branch to make the tree more fruitful (Google Dictionary); to kill a tree by severing or removing the living layer of the tree (the phloem) in a ring around its trunk. (biology-online.org)
Word origin: Old English gyrdel “belt, sash, cord about the waist,” common Germanic; related to Old English gyrdan “to gird”.