thumb|right|A Christian ([[Anglicanism|Anglican) priest wearing a white girdle around his waist to hold his alb and stole in place.]]
A belt without a buckle, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle in various contexts, especially historical ones, where girdles were a very common part of everyday clothing from antiquity until perhaps the 15th century, especially for women. Most girdles were practical pieces of costume to hold other pieces in place, but some were loose and essentially for decoration. Among the elite these might include precious metals and jewels.
Today, girdles are part of Christian liturgical vestments, and the word is used in other contexts, such as American sports (for what is really a kind of underwear).
The girdle as an undergarment or abbreviated corset around the waist is a different, essentially 20th-century, concept, but from around 1895 there was a fashion for "girdles" as a separate section of a fashionable dress, worn just above the waist on top of the main dress. It was typically up to about eight inches high, and often terminated in a "V" shape. It might be the same colour as the main dress or not. It differs from the earlier Swiss waist of the mid-19th century by not having lacing or boning.
History
thumb|200px|Grecian style [[tunic wrapped with a taenia (ribbon) girdle.|left]]
The men among the Greeks and Romans wore the girdle upon the loins, and it served them to confine the tunic, and hold the purse, instead of pockets, which were unknown; girls and women wore it under the bosom. The Strophium, Taenia, or Mitra occurs in many figures. In the small bronze Pallas of the Villa Albani, and in figures on the Hamilton Vases, are three cordons with a knot, detached from two ends of the girdle, which is fixed under the bosom. This girdle forms under the breast a knot of ribbon, sometimes in the form of a rose, as occur on the two handsomest daughters of Niobe. Upon the youngest the ends of the girdle pass over the shoulders, and upon the back, as they do upon four Caryatides found at Monte Portio. This part of the dress the ancients called, at least in the time of Isidore, Succinctorium or Bracile.
The girdle was omitted by both sexes in mourning. Often when the tunic was very long, and would otherwise be entangled by the feet, it was drawn over the girdle in such a way as to conceal the latter entirely underneath its folds. It is not uncommon to see two girdles of different widths worn together, one very high up, the other very low down, so as to form between the two in the tunic, a puckered interval; but this fashion was mostly applied to short tunics. The tunic of the Greek males was almost always confined by a girdle.
Among the Anglo-Saxons, it was used by both sexes; by the men to confine their tunic, and support the sword. Some were richly embroidered, and of white leather. A leather strap was chiefly worn by monks. Metal girdles were manufactured by girdlers.
Vestment and iconography
Christian usage
thumb|300px|In Catholic belief, the [[Girdle of Thomas is said to be handed down by the Virgin Mary during her Assumption]]
As a Christian liturgical vestment, the girdle is a long, rope-like cord tied around the waist over the alb or cassock. The Parson's Handbook describes the girdle as being made "generally of white linen rope, and may have a tassel at each end. About 12 ft. 6 in. long is a very convenient size if it is used double, one end being then turned into a noose and the tasselled ends slipped through. The girdle, however, may be coloured." They are used to close a cassock in Christian denominations, including the Anglican Communion, Catholic Church, Methodist Church and Lutheran Church.
Christian monastics would often hang religious texts, such as the Bible or Breviary, from their girdles and these became known as girdle books. In addition, they would often knot the ends of the girdle thrice, in order to represent the "vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience." As such, within the Christian Church, the girdle, in some contexts, represents chastity and within the Hebrew Bible, "Proverbs 31 provides biblical reference to the ancient practice of girdle making by virtuous chaste women". In the New Testament, "Christ referred to the girdle as a symbol of preparation and readiness for service ()": Many Christian clergy, such as Anglican priests and Methodist ministers, use the following prayer when wearing the girdle: