Ceñirse

Ceñirse
 

Hi,

...acababa de ceñirse la corona de Carlo Magno...

I suppose it's basically put on. Spanish appears to be rich on such subtleties: vestirse, calzarse, and now ceñirse.

The latter is not very intuitive: something like gird oneself with, only one cannot gird oneself with a crown.

I'm interested in a short list of items suitable (and unsuitable) for ceñirse. It is not just the crown, I suspect.

I've heard this verb used in conjunction with putting on a belt.
Anything that can be wrapped around that area (the loins) should probably be considered. I'll add a band, sash, or strap.

The second meaning of "ceñir" expresses when one thing surrounds another.
When putting on clothes and accessories, it can be used to put on a hat, some gloves or, as Rusty correctly said, anything around the waist, like a skirt, a belt, etc.


- Se ciñó la ropa.
- Me ceñí el sombrero.
- La falda que le ceñía la cintura era muy bonita.

It may also mean that something is adjusted to fit more tight, but since a crown has a fixed measure, it just means to put it on the head. ;)

The verb ceñir resembles the English verb to cinch.