Girdle String --> G-string?

[Douglas G. Wilson]

Baker, John wrote:
> ....
> 1.  The early spellings are "geestring," "G-string," and "'G' string," =
> with the first of these marginally earlier.
>
--

Also styling variations, e.g., "gee-string", "gee string". There is also
"jee string" (1900, 1901, G. Books).

--

> 2.  The "G string," the lowest string on a violin, is well-attested, but =
> there is no specific evidence linking it to the item of apparel.
>
--

I think that's right. There are also G strings on guitars, cellos,
string basses, etc., I think.

Of course there is/was also "gee string" = "string for steering to the
right" (applied to horses and to dog teams, at G. Books, IIRC). Again no
evidence of any connection AFAIK.

--
> 3.  "Girdle string," with the same or nearly same meaning, is also =
> found, but not with any great frequency.  FWIW, the examples of "girdle =
> string" generally apply to Old World peoples, while the earliest uses of =
> "G-string" apply to American Indians (but see the Filipino example cited =
> by Victor).
> =20
> 4.  Nineteenth century writers do not seem to be shy about using =
> "girdle," as far as I can tell, so there is no reason to suppose that =
> modesty would require a contraction of "girdle string" to "G-string."  =
> Modesty would have been a reason to avoid "groin string," but if that is =
> the full form, taboo avoidance was so successful that it is not found at =
> all.
--

There is also the theoretical possibility of "genital string", a
candidate for universal taboo-avoidance. This term is in fact equated to
"G-string" (I think in the non-stripper-related sense, I think New
Guinea context) in one late-20th-century item at G. Books. This item
does not have any particular relevance to the word-origin question at
hand IMHO.

Note that the term "G string" in some cases appears to refer to the
waist-band, in other cases to the front-and-back cloth strip, in other
cases to the whole assemblage.

Incidentally, another Spanish equivalent is the Mexicanism "sapeta"
(which is very difficult to find in Spanish dictionaries!).

-- Doug Wilson

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