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gird

1
[gurd]
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verb (used with object), gird·ed or girt, gird·ing.

to encircle or bind with a belt or band.
to surround; enclose; hem in.
to prepare (oneself) for action: He girded himself for the trial ahead.
to provide, equip, or invest, as with power or strength.

RELATED WORDS

brace, secure, buttress, reinforce, fortify, ready, ring, encompass, belt, bolster, prepare, support, enclose, pen, circle, blockade, steel, enfold, band, girdle

Origin of gird

1
before 950; Middle English girden, Old English gyrdan; cognate with German gürten
Related formsgird·ing·ly, adverb

Synonyms for gird

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gird ON THESAURUS.COM
3. brace, steel, fortify, strengthen.

gird

2
[gurd]

verb (used without object)

to gibe; jeer (usually followed by at).

verb (used with object)

to gibe or jeer at; taunt.

noun

a gibe.

Origin of gird

2
1175–1225; Middle English gyrd a stroke, blow, hence a cutting remark, derivative of girden to strike, smite < ?
Related formsgird·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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British Dictionary definitions for gird

gird

1

verb girds, girding, girded or girt (tr)

to put a belt, girdle, etc, around (the waist or hips)
to bind or secure with or as if with a beltto gird on one's armour
to surround; encircle
to prepare (oneself) for action (esp in the phrase gird (up) one's loins)
to endow with a rank, attribute, etc, esp knighthood

Word Origin for gird

Old English gyrdan, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse gyrtha, Old High German gurten

gird

2

verb

(when intr, foll by at) to jeer (at someone); mock
(tr) to strike (a blow at someone)
(intr) to move at high speed

noun

  1. a blow or stroke
  2. a taunt; gibe
a display of bad temper or anger (esp in the phrases in a gird; throw a gird)

Word Origin for gird

C13 girden to strike, cut, of unknown origin

gird

3

noun

Scot a hoop, esp a child's hoopAlso: girr

Word Origin for gird

a Scot variant of girth
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for gird
v.

Old English gyrdan "put a belt or girdle around; encircle, surround; invest with attributes," from Proto-Germanic *gurthjanan (cf. Old Norse gyrða, Old Saxon gurdian, Old Frisian gerda, Dutch gorden, Old High German gurtan, German gürten). Related to Old English geard "hedge, enclosure" (see yard (n.1)). Related: Girded; girding.

Throughout its whole history the English word is chiefly employed in rhetorical language, in many instances with more or less direct allusion to biblical passages. [OED]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper