Etymology This word comes from older variants of languages in use today, such as Old High German and Middle Dutch. In Old English the original word was a compound word made from the verb 'Gird' and the suffix 'le'. Gird meant to surround the waist.
Meaning
The usage that we're looking at today relates to the girdling of a plant. In this way the stem is cut right around its circumference cutting through the phloem. This means that the downward transport of substances, such as those created by photosynthesis, cannot happen. This can easily kill the plant.
Usage and examples
Diseases such as Phytophthora ramorum, discussed in the Wild Things television programme, uses girdling as part of its attack of susceptible trees. This can lead to the tree 'bleeding' and is discussed in this Forestry Commission video:
However, it is not just diseases that does this to plants. Animals, such as deer and birds, can girdle a plant during their normal grazing and even humans can use this technique to encourage larger fruits.
An example of accidental girdling can happen when saplings are planted with support around their trunk. While there is lots of room to begin with, people may not return to remove the support and within a few years the friction caused by the support can act to girdle the tree. Below is an example of girdling:
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AnnelageAnn%C3%A9lationGirdling1LilleLamiot3.jpg |
History
1662 is the earliest example of girdling relating to plants that the OED has records for. The comment was written by a J. Winthrop regarding trials of girdling trees. It seems that this may be a fairly recent usage of the word as J Winthrop says: "by girdling the tree (as they call it"
Bibliography
"girdle, v.". OED Online. March 2013. Oxford University Press. 28 March 2013 <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/78469>.
"Girdling". Wikipedia Online. March 2013. Wikipedia.org. 28 March 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girdling>.
Allaby, M. (2012) Oxford Dictionary of Plant Sciences, Oxford, Oxford University Press
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