# gird

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɡɜːd/ · frequency rank #73,224

## Definitions
1. To bind with a flexible rope or cord.
2. To encircle with, or as if with a belt.
3. To prepare (oneself) for an action.
4. (of a vessel towing another) To be pulled on sideways by its towline, putting it at risk of capsizing.

## Etymology
From Middle English girden, gerden, gürden, from Old English gyrdan (“to put a belt around, to put a girdle around”), from Proto-Germanic *gurdijaną (“to gird”), 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”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/gird