Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To encircle with or as if with a band.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To bind with a band or girdle.
  • To surround; inclose; encompass.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To bind with a band or girdle; to gird.
  • transitive verb To surround as with a band; to encompass.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To bind with a band or girdle.
  • verb To encircle, surround, as with a gird; inclose; encompass.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English begirden, from Old English begyrdan ("to gird, clothe, surround, fortify"), from Proto-Germanic *bi- + *gurdijanan (“to gird”), equivalent to be- +‎ gird. Cognate with Old High German begurtjan ("to begird"), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌳𐌰𐌽 (bigairdan, "to begird"). More at be-, gird.

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