Meanings
plural surcingles
- A long unpadded strap to pass over and keep in place a blanket, pack or saddle on an animal.
He was standing on the offside of his horse, holding up the flap of his saddle, with the surcingle loosened, and was pointing to the girths. Close to their attachment to the saddle they had been almost cut through with a knife.
1929, Baldwyn Dyke Acland, chapter 8, in Filibuster
present singular third person surcingles · participle present surcingling · participle past surcingled · past surcingled
- transitiveTo fasten with a surcingle.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA piece of tack wrapped around the belly of a horse, to use when longeing.
Origin
- Old Frenchsurcengle
- Englishsurcingle
From Old French surcengle, formed with sur (“over”) and cengle (“girdle”).
More words from Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian подпруга
- подпруга (podpruga)Translations
French surfaix
- surfaixTranslations
German Obergurt
- ObergurtTranslations
Turkish kolan
- kolanTranslations
Cite this entry
surcingle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surcingle
“surcingle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surcingle. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “surcingle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surcingle.
Source: surcingle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.