G I R 



G 1 R 



our own part, wc mufl own that it is not yet admitted 

 into our mufical creed. 



GIRAN, in Geography, a town of Algiers, anciently 

 cailed jlr'iiia ; 4, miles S.E. of Oran. 



GIRANA, a town of Abyflinia; 60 miles N.W, of 

 Gondar. N. lat 13'. E. long. 36" 37'. 



CIRi\NDOLE, a large kind of branched candlcllick. 

 See Bkaxch and .Tesse. 



GIRAPIATRA, in Geography, a town of the ifland of 

 Candy ; 16 miles S.W. of Settia. 



GIRAR, a fortrefs of Hindooftan, in Malwa ; 40 

 miles S W. of Chanderee. N. lat. 24' 23 . E. long. 79' ly'. 



GIRARD, Gabriel, in Biography, a diilingnifhed 

 member of tlie French academy, known as the author of a 

 work entitled " Synonymes Francois," the objeft of which 

 is to prove that the Frencli words, ufually accounted fyno- 

 nymous, have, ahno'l all, certain fliades of difference, 

 which, in corrett fpeech, ftiould prevent them from being 

 ufed indifferently. No grammatical work was ever better 

 received by the public, and it was the opinion of Voltaire 

 that it will fubfift as long as the language. Tiiis work has 

 been imitated in Englidi, in one entitled " The difference 

 between words eileemed fynonymous in the Englifti lan- 

 guage, and the proper choice of them determined," in two 

 Tols. i2mo. 1766. Tiie abbe Girard alio wrote a French 

 grammar, entitled " Principes de la Langue Francoife," 

 which has much merit in its plan and theory, but is thought 

 very defective in point of ilyle. 



GIRARDON, Fr.\xci.s, an eminent fculptor, intended 

 by his father, who was a founder, for the profcirion of the 

 law. His inclination for the fine arts could not be con- 

 trolled, and he was educated as an artirt. He was brought 

 up at Troyes, but having acquired much reputation and 

 practice there, he went to Paris to improve his talle and 

 judgment under the fculptor Anguier. His performances 

 obtained for him a high dejTee of reputation ; he v, as noticed 

 by the king, and by him lent with a liberal penfion to Rome. 

 In 1657 he was admitted into the academy, and was patro- 

 nized by Le Brun. Girardon is reckoned to have had more 

 corrccincfs tlun invention ; and he is faid to have modelled 

 with more facility than he worked in marble. His principal 

 works are, four figures compofing the group of the baths 

 of ApoUo, aud the rapo of Proferpine in the gardens of 

 Verlui!k5 ; the equellrian ftatue of Lewis XIV. and the 

 maufoleum of cardinal Richelieu, in the church of the 

 Sorboune. He cultivated the friendfhip of the fine writers 

 of the age, feveral of whom have done h.onour to his merits 

 and memory. He was nominated to the chancellorfiiip of 

 the academy in 1695. After having adorned the capital 

 and many other parts of the kingdom with a number of 

 works, and rifen to the very head of his profeffion, he died 

 in 1 7 15 at the age of eighty-five. IVIoreri. 



GIllBE , in Geography, a town of Egjpt, on the right 

 bank of the Kile ; 26 miles N. of Sycne. 



GIRBEH, a river of Switzerland, which runs into the 

 Aar, two miles S. of Berne. 



GIRCH, a river of North Wales, which runs into the 

 fea, near Pwllhely, Caernarvonlhire. 



GIRCHSBECK, a town of the duchv of Holftein ; 

 fix miles W S W. of Oldeilohe. 



GIRCZENI, a town of Moldavia; 3c miles K.N.E. 

 of Galatz. 



GIRDERS, or Girding li-ami, in Ctirp,r:try.ure tliofe 

 large beams thrown acrofs a room, in order to Ihorten the 

 bearing of the joifts. 



When the bearing is not very great, the girder confifts of 

 a Tingle beam ; wkeii it h more tliar. common, the baulk, or 



piece of wood out of which the ^rdcr re made, ia fawn dowfi 

 the middle, and the two pieces are revcrfed ard bolted. Ia 

 great bearings the girder is framed like the principals of a 

 roof, for the conftruftion of which wo refer our reader t« 

 the article C.\RrL.STi(V, and Naled Fi.ooiiKr,. 



No girder ought to be lefb than tt n incl;cs ir. the wall, nor 

 ought they, or any principal beam, to be placed over 

 an aperture. They ought to be of the moft hearty wood, 

 and as free of knots as poffible, for knoto detlioy the con- 

 tinuity of the fibres, and confcquently it.-.pair the ftrength. 



G I R D IKG-G I RT, in Sea Language. The fcamen fay a 

 ffiip is girt, or hath a girJir.g-glrl, when her cable is fo tight 

 or flraiiied, that upon the running of the tide fne caanot g» 

 over it with her flern part, but will he acrofs the tidej. 



GIRDLE, CiNGLi-Ls, or Zona, a belt or band of leather, 

 or other matter tied about the loins, to keep the part more 

 firm and tight. 



It was anciently the cuilom for bankrupts, and other in- 

 folvent debtors, to put ofi"and fnrrender their girdle in open 

 court. The rcafon was, that our anceftors ufed to carry 

 all the neceffary utenfilf, as purfc, keys, &c. tied to the 

 girdle ; whence the girdle became a fymbol of the cftatc. 

 Hiitory relates, that the widow of Piillip I. duke of Bur- 

 gundy, renounced her right of iucctilion by putting off 

 her girdle upon the duke's tomb. Accordingly the girdle 

 nmongft the ancients was ufed for a purfc. Our .Saviour 

 forbids hia apoftles to carry money in their girdles. Matt. x. 

 9. Haggai, i. 6. Horace fays, that he who has loft his 

 girdle (his money) is ready for any thing. " Ibit e6 quo vi», 

 qui zunara pcrdidit." Hor. Ep. 1. ii. c. I. The Romans 

 always wore a girdle to tuck up the tunica, when they had 

 occafion to do any thing; this cuff om was fo general, that 

 fuch as went without girdles, and let their gowr.s hang loofe, 

 were reputed idle, diiiolute perfons. 



GiKnLE, Mahicns' or Virgins'. It was the cuRom among 

 the Greeks and Romans for the huiband to untie his wife's 

 girdle. Homer, lib. xi. of liis Odyffey, calls tlie girdle 

 rrzfi-.nrii i^iiiiv, ir.a-d' s girdle. Feftus relates, that it was made 

 of fiicep's wool, and that the huiband untied it in bed : he 

 add.', that it was tied in the Herculanean knot ; and that 

 the hufliand untied it, as a happy prefage of his having as 

 many children as Hercules, who, at his death, left feventy 

 beliind him. 



The poets attribute to Venus a particular kind of girdle, 

 called ccfltts, to which they annexed a faculty of inipiring 

 the paflion of love. 



Girdle, Quici/i/vcr, in Medicine, is a fort of girdle fmearcd 

 over with mercury, or having mercury inclofed within it. 



It is made of leather, linen, cloth, cotton, ihiff, or the 

 like ; and the mcrcurj' is prepared or killed various ways j 

 as with failing fpittle, fat, or the like. 



It is applied as a topical medicinif about the waift, frrne- 

 times with good effect ; but frequently it proves dangerous, 

 principally in weak conftitutions, and thofe liibjecl to con- 

 vulfions. Its intention is, the cure of tlie itch, diiving 

 away vermin, killing lice, &c. 



Girdle, Qucenj, is an ancient duty or tax, raifed »t 

 Paris every three years, at the rate of three dcniers upon 

 each muid of wine, and fix for each queue : it was intended 

 for the maintenance of the quceu's houiliold : afterwards 

 they augmented and extended it to other coraraodities, a» 

 coals, &c. 



Vigenere fappofes it to have been originally llv.u called, 

 becaiife the girdle anciently fervcd for a purie ; but he 

 adds, that a hke tax lu-.d been raifed in Perfia, and un- 

 der the fame name, above two thoufand years ago ; as 

 appear* from Plato, in his Alcibiadts, Cicero, Atlieni-us, &c. 

 M m 3 Girdle, 



