BELT, Balleus, properly denotes a kind of military girdle or cincture, usually of leather, by which the sword or any other weapon is sustained. The belt was an essential piece of the ancient armour; insomuch that we sometimes find it used to denote the whole armour. In later ages the belt was given to a person when he was raised to knighthood; and hence it has also been used as a badge or mark of the knightly order.