пояс waist

Он зашёл в воду по пояс. He went into water up to his waist.

Semantics

This entry is concerned with the use of the word пояс to refer to the part of the human body between the rib cage and the hips. This word does not refer to animals. For the difference between the word пояс and its synonym талия, see Lexical Relationships: Synonyms. The word пояс is also used to refer to belts, sashes, and other similar items of clothing, a meaning not described in this dictionary.

Morphology

пояс SE NPlur. -а; m.in.noun

Syntax

Syntactic actants

Actant 1: whose waist it is
(a) Genitive
(b) Possessive
Он обвязывает верёвку вокруг пояса девочки. He is tying the cord around the girl's waist.
Вокруг её пояса шла верёвка. A cord went around her waist.

Lexical Relationships

Synonyms

талия waist
NB Талия "waist" vs. пояс "waist." These synonyms have different combinatory properties. The word пояс "waist" is used to indicate the level of something, e.g. голый до пояса "naked to the waist," вода по пояс "water up to one's waist," etc. Such expressions are not used with талия "waist." On the other hand, the word талия is used in expressions which describe the shape of that part of the body: тонкая талия "a slim waist," узкая талия "a narrow waist," etc. The word пояс is not used in such constructions (except for the expression тонкий в поясе "small-waisted").

Syntactic derivatives

поясной waist (as modifier)
поясной портрет half-length portrait

Other expressions

тонкий в поясеp small-waisted
по поясa to the waist
Он зашёл в воду по пояс. He went into water up to his waist.
высовываться/высунуться по поясa to lean halfway out
до поясаg down to the waist
В комнату вошёл голый до пояса мужчина. Into the room walked a man who was naked to the waist.
Она носит ожерелья до пояса. She wears necklaces down to her waist.
вокруг поясаg around the waist
ниже поясаg below the waist
выше поясаg above the waist

Sample texts

Удары ниже пояса в боксе запрещены. In boxing, blows below the belt are not allowed.
Водитель грузовика, высунувшись по пояс из раскрытой дверцы, что-то ему кричал. The truck driver, leaning halfway out the open door, was yelling something to him.