gird

Meanings

Verb

• To bind with a flexible rope or cord.
• To encircle with, or as if with a belt.
• To prepare oneself for an action.
• To jeer at.
• To jeer.

Noun

• A sarcastic remark.
• A stroke with a rod or switch.
• A severe spasm; a twinge; a pang.

Origin

• From Middle English girden, gerden, gurden, from Old English gyrdan ("to put a belt around, to put a girdle around"), from Proto-Germanic *gurdijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ-. Cognate with West Frisian gurdzje, girdzje, Dutch gorden, German gürten, Swedish gjorda, Icelandic gyrða, Albanian ngërthej ("to tie together by weaving, to bind").