OT - Gird (hideously long)
Justin W in Ann Arbor, MI
>I love having access to the OED online. With my student days behind me (gloat), I don't know how much longer I'll have it. That said, however, here's what the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd Edition) says about girding and loins.
Note the Moxon quote at the very bottom (#7), arguably making this not entirely off topic.
- Justin
Gird, v.
1. trans. To surround, encircle (the waist, a person about the waist) with a belt or girdle, esp. for the purpose of confining the garments and allowing freer action to the body. Chiefly refl. or pass.; also, after Biblical phrase, to gird one's loins, reins, etc. Also to gird up, about.
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John xxi. 18 Mi-y [u] uere iungra u waldes ec igyrde..miy uutudlice u bist euintrad..oer ec gyrde. a1225 Ancr. R. 418 e schulen liggen in on heater, and i-gurd. c1250 Gen. & Ex. 3149 Sod and girt, stondende, and staf on hond. c1330 R. BRUNNE Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1804 Coryneus first vp he stirt, & wy a clo his body gyrt. 1382 WYCLIF Exod. xii. 11 e schulen girde about oure reynes. Tobit v. 5 Tobie..fond a ung man stondende, ful faire, gird [1535 COVERDALE gyrded vp], and as redi to gon. c1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 7054 The lauendres kirtel on she cast, She gird hir, and tukked hir fast. 1483 CAXTON Gold. Leg. 432b/2 For gyrdle he gyrded hym on his bare flesshe wyth a corde. 1535 COVERDALE 2 Kings iv. 29 Girde vp thy loynes, and take my staffe in thy hande, and go thy waye. Luke xii. 35 Let youre loynes be gerded aboute. 1667 MILTON P.L. IX. 1113 Those Leaves They gathered..And..together sowd, To gird thir waste. 1782 COWPER Truth 82 In shirt of hair, and weeds of canvas dressed, Girt with a bell-rope that the Pope has blessed. 1810 SCOTT Lady of L. III. vii, He girt his loins and came. 1865 DICKENS Mut. Fr. III. iv, She girded herself with a white apron. 1872 [EARL PEMBROKE & G. H. KINGSLEY] S. Sea Bubbles vii. 176 They girded him with strange belts.
b. fig. To prepare (oneself) for action; to brace up (oneself) for, to, or to do something. Often with up.
c1450 tr. De Imitatione I. xix. 22 Girde e as a man ayenst e fendes wickednes. 1592 tr. Junius on Rev. xiv. 1 As ready gird to doe his office in the midst of the Church. 1672 CAVE Prim. Chr. I. iii. (1673) 49 The mind is strengthened and girt close by indigence and frugality. 1781 COWPER Conversat. 702 [They] one in heart, in interest, and design Gird up each other to the race divine. 1822 HAZLITT Table-t. Ser. II. vi. (1869) 126 To gird themselves up to any enterprize of pith or moment. 1860 MOTLEY Netherl. (1868) I. i. 15 He was already girding himself for his life's work.
c. To clothe with or in a garment confined by a girdle. Obs. rare.
1382 WYCLIF 2 Sam. vi. 14 Dauid is gird [Vulg. accinctus; 1388 clothed; 1611 girt] with a surplees. 1697 DRYDEN �neid VII. 258 Girt in his Gabin Gown the Heroe sate.
d. To bind (a horse) with a saddle-girth. (Cf. GIRTH v. 2.) Obs.
c1330 Arth. & Merl. 3985 Adoun ai lit & her hors girten. c1420 Anturs of Arth. xxxix. 495 Gawayne and Galerone gurdene [v.r. dyghtis] here stedes. 1509 BARCLAY Shyp of Folys (1570) 25 He is a foole..That to his saddle would leape on hye Before or he haue girt his horse. c1566 Merie Tales in Skelton's Wks. (1843) I. p. lxv, Skelton commaunded the ostler to sadle his mare, & the hosteler did gyrde the mare hard. 1677 MIEGE Dict. Eng.-Fr., To gird a Horse, cengler un cheval.
2. fig. To invest or endue with attributes, esp. (after biblical phrase) with strength, power, etc.
c1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) xvii. 31 [xviii. 32] Se god me egyrde mid m�num, and mid cr�ftum. a1300 E.E. Psalter xvii. 33 [ibid.] (Horstm.) Lauerd at girde me with might. 1388 WYCLIF Ps. xvii. 33 [ibid.] God that hath gird me with vertu. Ibid. lxiv. 7 [lxv. 6] Thou makest redi hillis in thi vertu, and art gird with power. a1450-1530 Myrr. our Ladye 126 The vyrgyn mari in whome thou hast cladde the in fayrnesse and gyrthe the in strengthe. 1580 SIDNEY Ps. XVIII. ix, This God then girded me in his all-mighty pow'rs. 1667 MILTON P.L. VII. 194 The Son On his great Expedition now appeer'd, Girt with Omnipotence. 1812 S. ROGERS Columbus I. 49 Sent forth to save, and girt with God-like power. 1821 SHELLEY Prometh. Unb. I. 643 The sights with which thou torturest gird my soul With new endurance. 1874 BLACKIE Self-Cult. 14 Without carrying away any living pictures of significant story which might..gird them with endurance in a moment of difficulty.
3. To equip (oneself or another) with a sword suspended from a belt fastened round the body; sometimes with reference to investing a person with the sword of knighthood.
a1000 C�dmon's Gen. 2865 (Gr.) Hine se hala wer gyrde gr�an sweorde. 1297 R. GLOUC. (Rolls.) 3615 Mid is suerd he was igurd, at so strong was & kene. c1350 Will. Palerne 3291 e knit..gerd him wi a god swerd. c1450 Merlin 322 Gonnore hir-self girde hym with his swerde. 1568 R. GRAFTON Chron. II. 95 Upon Easter day..he was gyrde with the sworde of the Duke of Briteyn. 1641 BAKER Chron. (1660) 127 And because he had not yet received the Order of Knighthood, he was by Henry Earl of Lancaster girt solemnly with the sword. 1663 BUTLER Hud. I. ii. 742 Was I for this entitled Sir, And girt with trusty sword and spur. 1848 GALLENGA Italy Past & Pr. I. p. xxv, They gave her a standard; they girt her sons with the weapons of war.
4. a. To fasten (a sword or other weapon) to one's person by means of a belt. Const. on, upon, to. Also with on adv.
c1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) xliv. 4 [xlv. 3] Gyrd nu in sweord ofer in eoh [L. super femur tuum] u Mihtia. a1300 E.E. Psalter ibid. (Horstm.) Girde i swerde of iren and stele Ouer i thee. 1480 CAXTON Chron. Eng. cc. 181 Andrew of herkela..worthely arrayed and with a swerd gurt aboute hym. a1533 LD. BERNERS Huon xliii. 146 He dyd on his helme and gyrte on his sword. 1555 EDEN Decades 270 Hauynge theyr quyuers of arrowes gerte to them. 1667 MILTON P.L. VI. 713 My Bow and Thunder, my Almighty Arms, Gird on, and Sword upon thy puissant Thigh. 1718 PRIOR Knowledge 247 The combatant too late the field declines, When now the sword is girded to his loins. 1781 GIBBON Decl. & F. II. xlv. 689 A trusty sword was constantly girt to their side. 1832 LYTTON Eugene A. I. iv, His pistols were still girded round him. 1840 DICKENS Barn. Rudge iii, Girt to his side was the steel hilt of an old sword without blade or scabbard. 1883 STEVENSON Treas. Isl. v. xxii, The doctor took up his hat and pistols, girt on a cutlass..and..crossed the palisade.
b. To secure (clothing, armour, etc.) on the person by means of a girdle; also to gird on, up.
1297 R. GLOUC. (Rolls) 8962 o caste is gode mold hire mantel of anon & gurde aboute hire middel a uair linne ssete. c1380 WYCLIF Wks. (1880) 316 if ise clois ben gurde & more large in widnesse, ei beren on hem more synne. 1535 COVERDALE John xxi. 7 Simon Peter..gyrde his mantell aboute him & sprange in to ye see. 1583 STUBBES Anat. Abus. II. (1882) 109 An old gowne girded to him with a thong. 1611 BIBLE 1 Kings xx. 32 So they girded sackcloth on their loynes. 1667 MILTON P.L. VI. 542 Let each His Adamantine coat gird well. 1791 COWPER Iliad XI. 17 Bade the Greeks Gird on their armour. 1814 SCOTT Ld. of Isles V. xxxiv, Warn Lanark's knights to gird their mail. 1835 W. IRVING Tour Prairies 45 He rode with his finely shaped head and breast naked, his blanket being girt round his waist. 1855 KINGSLEY Heroes II. (1868) 24 So Perseus arose, and girded on the sandals and the sword. 1877 J. NORTHCOTE Catacombs I. v. 71 With his tunic girt high about his loins.
c. To put (a cord, etc.) round something. rare.
1726 SWIFT Gulliver I. i, Very strong cords..which the workmen had girt round my neck, my hands, my body, and my legs.
5. transf. and fig. a. To surround as with a belt; to tie firmly or confine. Also to gird up, in, about, together. Obs.
c1600 SHAKES. Sonn. xii, Sommers greene all girded up in sheaues. 1602 MARSTON Antonio's Rev. II. v. Wks. 1856 I. 103 Then I Catch straight the cords end; and..offer a rude hand As readie to girde in thy pipe of breath. 1611 BIBLE Ecclus. xxii. 16 As timber girt and bound together in a building [etc.]. 1657 R. LIGON Barbadoes (1673) Index to Plate 84 Two stantions of timber which are girded together in several places, with wood or Iron. 1667 MILTON P.L. VIII. 82 How [they will] gird the Sphear With Centric and Eccentric scribl'd o're. 1674 N. FAIRFAX Bulk & Selv. 128 For I take the seed..to be a cluster of bubbles wryed up snug, or a bottome of hoops or springs closely girt or knit together.
b. To encircle (a town, etc.) with an armed force; to besiege, blockade.
1548 HALL Chron. Hen. VI, 153b, He..determined to get the town of Vernoyle in perche, and gyrd it round about with a strong seage. 1590 GREENE Orl. Fur. (1599) C, But trust me, Princes, I haue girt his fort, And I will sacke it. a1627 HAYWARD Four Y. Eliz. (Camden) 66 But the French was so streightly girt up within Lieth, that no supplies were brought unto them. 1814 CARY Dante, Inf. XIV. 64 This of the seven kings was one, Who girt the Theban walls with siege. 1867 DICKENS Lett. (1880) II. 284 The whole place is secretly girt in with a military force.
c. To fasten tightly, draw close (as a fetter or bond) upon a person. rare.
1732-8 NEAL Hist. Purit. IV. 139 His Highness girt the laws close upon the Papists.
6. Said of that which surrounds: To encircle, enclose, confine.
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 206 Some of e naddrene biclupten heom so faste al a-boute at heom oute heo scholden to-berste so streite heo gurden heom with-oute. 1375 BARBOUR Bruce XVII. 616 Gret flaggatis tharof thai maid, Gyrdit with Irne-bandis braid. 1749 SMOLLETT Regicide V. ix, An iron crown intensely hot, shall gird Thy hoary Temples. 1781 COWPER Retirement 243 Girt with a chain he cannot wish to break His only bliss is sorrow for her sake. 1822-34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) IV. 444 A discoloration..which extended..over the loins and very nearly girded the body. 1843 CARLYLE Past & Pr. III. ii. (1858) 187 Girt with the iron ring of Fate. 1864 TENNYSON En. Ard. 157 Then first since Enoch's golden ring had girt Her finger [etc.]. 1868 FREEMAN Norm. Conq. (1876) II. viii. 197 A mighty mound girded by a fosse.
b. of natural surroundings or barriers, esp. of rivers.
1593 SHAKES. 3 Hen. VI, IV. viii. 20 Like to his Iland, girt in with the Ocean. 1601 R. JOHNSON Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 14 The navigable rivers, whereof some (as it were) gird in the whole realme. 1667 MILTON P.L. IV. 276 That Nyseian Ile Girt with the River Triton. 1809 N. PINKNEY Trav. France 27 This lawn..was girded entirely around by a circle of lofty trees. 1853 G. JOHNSTON Nat. Hist. E. Bord. I. 13 The range thus girds in and defines the plain. 1870-4 J. THOMSON City Dreadf. Nt. I. iv, A river girds the city west and south.
c. of a ring or crowd of people; chiefly refl. or pass.
1671 MILTON Samson 1415 Your company along I will not wish, lest it perhaps offend them To see me girt with friends. 1807 WORDSW. White Doe III. 133 On foot they girt their Father round. a1839 PRAED Poems (1864) II. 37 Girt with a crowd of listening Graces, With expectation on their faces. 1864 TENNYSON Boadicea 5 Boadicea..Girt by half the tribes of Britain.
d. of immaterial surroundings (chiefly pass.).
1629 MILTON Nativity 202 Ashtaroth..Now sits not girt with tapers' holy shine. 1671 P.R. I. 120 So to the coast of Jordan he directs His easy steps, girded with snaky wiles. 1833 TENNYSON Pal. Art 273 Shut up as in a crumbling tomb, girt round With blackness as a solid wall. 1836 H. HOLLAND Med. Notes (1839) 274 It is well worthy of note..how long in fact it [life] may continue, thus narrowed and girt in on every side. 1847 L. HUNT Jar Honey ix. (1848) 120 Unheard was shepherd's song, And silence girt the woods.
e. To move round. rare.
1688 PRIOR On Exod. iii. 14, 51 Why does each consenting Sign With prudent Harmony combine..To gird the Globe, and regulate the Year? 1812 WOODHOUSE Astron. v. 20 They [Navigators] must therefore have surrounded, or girded the Earth.
7. intr. Of a string: To have a grip upon what it encircles. Obs.
1680 MOXON Mech. Exerc. I. 187 The String..will touch and gird more upon the Groove of the Work, and consequently..will the better command the Work about.
*** And for those who made it this far...
loin, n
2. Chiefly Biblical and poet. This part of the body, regarded a. as the part of the body that should be covered by clothing and about which the clothes are bound; so, to gird (up) the loins (lit. and fig.), to prepare for strenuous exertion.
1526 TINDALE Matt. iii. 4 This Jhon had his garment off camels heer and a gerdell off a skynne aboute his loynes. 1535 COVERDALE Prov. xxxi. 17 She gyrdeth hir loynes with strength. 1605 SHAKES. Lear II. iii. 10 My face Ile grime with filth, Blanket my loines. 1667 MILTON P.L. IX. 1096 Some Tree whose broad smooth Leaves together sowd, And girded on our loyns, may cover round Those middle parts. 1742 COLLINS Ode Poet. Charac. 21 To gird their blest prophetick loins. 1753 SMART Hilliad I. 27 Her loins with patch-work cincture were begirt. 1833 L. RITCHIE Wand. by Loire 17 It was necessary, therefore, to gird up our loins and walk. 1855 BROWNING Statue & Bust, The unlit lamp and the ungirt loin. 1877 BRYANT Odyss. v. 280 And round about her loins Wound a fair golden girdle. 1880 MRS. E. LYNN LINTON Rebel of Fam. II. v, He was standing like the impersonation of masculine punctuality with loins girded.
