Girded

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Encircled or bound with a belt or band ; mentally or physically prepared oneself for a challenge or difficult situation
2. Wrapped or fastened around with a strap or band ; made ready or braced oneself to face adversity
3. Surrounded or tightened with a girdle or belt ; gotten oneself ready and equipped to deal with a demanding task

Etymology: "Girded" is the past tense and past participle of "gird," so the word is a form of "gird," which goes back to Old English "gyrdan," meaning to encircle or fasten with a belt. That verb came from the noun "gierd" or "gyrd," a stick or rod, and the sense of a rod was extended to a band or belt, the kind worn around the waist. To gird was originally a physical act: a knight girded on his sword by buckling it to a belt at the hip. The figurative sense of bracing oneself for something hard grew out of that image of putting on armour or a belt before a fight. Biblical translations, especially the King James Version, helped spread it, with phrases like "gird up thy loins" meaning to prepare for effort. Its close relative "girth," meaning the circumference of something, comes from the same Germanic root, which is why a horse's saddle strap is still called a girth.

Synonyms: prepared, equipped, surrounded, enclosed, encircled

Antonyms: unprepared, weakened, vulnerable, exposed, unprotected