cinc•ture
Pronunciation: (singk'chur), [key]
— n., v., -tured, -tur•ing.
—n.
- a belt or girdle.
- something that surrounds or encompasses as a girdle does; a surrounding border: The midnight sky had a cincture of stars.
- (on a classical column) a fillet at either end of a shaft, esp. one at the lower end. Cf. orle (def. 3b).
- the act of girding or encompassing.
—v.t.
- to gird with or as if with a cincture; encircle; encompass.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.