Overgird

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To provide strong support or reinforcement over or around something, as if girding it from above or all sides
2. To strengthen by encircling or covering in a protective or supportive way, ensuring firmness and stability
3. To secure or fortify an object or structure by wrapping or binding it with support extending over its surface

Etymology: "Overgird" is a plain English formation: the prefix "over-", meaning above or across, attached to "gird", the verb meaning to encircle or bind something with a strap, belt or band. Gird itself goes back to Old English "gyrdan", meaning to fasten a belt around the waist, and its sense of binding a sword or armour onto the body is part of the same picture. Putting "over-" in front adds the idea of a band laid on top of or across something that is already there. The sense of strengthening comes from that physical act. A structure wrapped in extra bands or cables is held together more firmly, so the verb came to mean reinforcing something from above or on all sides, as in a ship or building braced with additional supports. The word is a compound built from familiar parts rather than a borrowing, so its meaning follows directly from the image of binding.

Synonyms: surround, enclose