gird1

[gurd] /gɜrd/
verb (used with object), girded or girt, girding.
1.
to encircle or bind with a belt or band.
2.
to surround; enclose; hem in.
3.
to prepare (oneself) for action:
He girded himself for the trial ahead.
4.
to provide, equip, or invest, as with power or strength.
Origin
before 950; Middle English girden, Old English gyrdan; cognate with German gürten
Related forms
girdingly, adverb
Synonyms
3. brace, steel, fortify, strengthen.

gird2

[gurd] /gɜrd/
verb (used without object)
1.
to gibe; jeer (usually followed by at).
verb (used with object)
2.
to gibe or jeer at; taunt.
noun
3.
a gibe.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English gyrd a stroke, blow, hence a cutting remark, derivative of girden to strike, smite < ?
Related forms
girdingly, adverb
Examples from the web for gird
  • Straps that gird the bags will allow the crane operator to move any that did not settle in the right place.
  • It is critical that the surveyor's gird stakes remain in place until after the system is installed and inspected.
British Dictionary definitions for gird

gird1

/ɡɜːd/
verb (transitive) girds, girding, girded, girt
1.
to put a belt, girdle, etc, around (the waist or hips)
2.
to bind or secure with or as if with a belt: to gird on one's armour
3.
to surround; encircle
4.
to prepare (oneself) for action (esp in the phrase gird (up) one's loins)
5.
to endow with a rank, attribute, etc, esp knighthood
Word Origin
Old English gyrdan, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse gyrtha, Old High German gurten

gird2

/ɡɜːd/
verb
1.
when intr, foll by at. to jeer (at someone); mock
2.
(transitive) to strike (a blow at someone)
3.
(intransitive) to move at high speed
noun
4.
  1. a blow or stroke
  2. a taunt; gibe
5.
a display of bad temper or anger (esp in the phrases in a gird; throw a gird)
Word Origin
C13 girden to strike, cut, of unknown origin

gird3

/ɡɪrd/
noun
1.
(Scot) a hoop, esp a child's hoop Also girr
Word Origin
a Scot variant of girth
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]