талия waist

Красивый пояс перехватывал её талию. A pretty belt encircled her waist.

Semantics

This entry is concerned with the use of the word талия to refer to the part of the human torso between the ribs and the hip as an element of someone's figure. It does not refer to animals. This word is used to describe the shape of someone's body and also certain gestures involving someone's waist. It is not used to describe sensations, e.g. pain. In the literature of the 19th century, талия was still used in the sense "the upper portion of the torso," e.g. длинная талия, said of a long-waisted person, стройная талия "a shapely figure," etc. (Compare the word стан, which also has this usage.) For the difference between the word талия and its synonym пояс, see Lexical Relationships: Synonyms.

The word талия is also used to refer to the corresponding part of clothing, a meaning not described in this dictionary.

Morphology

талия SS f.in.noun

Syntax

Syntactic actants

Actant 1: whose waist it is
(a) Genitive
(b) Possessive
Талия девушки была тонкая и гибкая. The girl's waist was thin and lithe.
Красивый пояс перехватывал её талию. A pretty belt encircled her waist.
NB When the word талия functions as a subject and does not have a descriptive modifier, the construction талия у + Genitive is often preferred to (a) and (b), above:
Талия у девушки была тонкая и гибкая. The girl's waist was thin and lithe.

Lexical Relationships

Synonyms

пояс waist
NB Пояс "waist" vs. талия "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, талия is used in expressions which describe the shape of that part of the body: полная талия "a thick waist." The word пояс is not used in such cases (except for the expression тонкий в поясе "small-waisted").
стан Poetic waist

Size, shape, and other properties

ширина талииg waist measurement
Портниха измерила ему ширину талии. The tailor took his waist measurement.
тонкая талия a thin waist
тонкий в талииp Bookish small-waisted
Это был высокий, тонкий в талии мужчина средних лет. He was a tall, slim, middle-aged man.
узкая талия a narrow waist
осиная талия a wasp waist
NB The above phrase is used only to describe the waist of a woman.
полная талия; располневшая талия a thick waist
быть [no Pf.]: у Ng нет талииg N has no waist
расползаться/расползтись в талииp to gain weight around one's waist
Её не узнать: расползлась в талии, лицо постарело. She's changed so much: her waist has thickened and her face aged.
гибкая талия a lithe waist

Movements

брать/взять Na за талиюa;
обнимать/обнять Na за талиюa 		to put one's arm or arms around N's waist

Other expressions

перехватывать [no Pf.]: Nn перехватывает талиюa N encircles the waist
NB N = ремень "a belt," пояс "a sash," etc.
быть [no Pf.] стянута: у Ng талия стянута поясомi (or ремнёмi) N's waist is cinched with a sash/belt

Sample texts

Я стягиваю потуже вокруг талии патронташный ремень... [А. Куприн, На глухарей] I draw the cartridge belt tighter around my waist... [A. Kuprin, "Hunting the Wood Grouse"]
Он взял её за талию и закружил в вальсе. He grasped her by the waist and began to waltz.
У неё плохая фигура, талии нет, ноги толстые. She has a bad figure — no waist and heavy legs.