An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Belt

by Friedrich Kluge

Belt, m., ‘straits,’ akin to OIc. belte, AS. and E. belt, baldrick (OHG. balz), ‘girdle, shoulder-belt’?. Belt is thus a ‘zone of land’?. The cognate Lat. balteus is, according to Varro, a Tuscan word.