Ungirden

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Unfastens or removes the girdle or belt that was binding something around the waist or body
2. Loosens the band wrapped around a person's middle by undoing its buckle or cord
3. Takes off a girdle or sash that had been fastened tightly about the body

Etymology: "Ungirden" is a straightforward formation: the prefix "un-" ("reverse, undo") attached to "gird" in its sense of "to fasten with a belt or band." Its older form was "unguird," a verb that appears in Middle English writing and means to take off a girdle or belt. The root "gird" comes from Old English "gyrdan," meaning to encircle or bind, which is related to "girdle" and to the same idea of wrapping something around the waist. Because "gird" also took on the sense of preparing oneself for battle or effort, "ungirden" and "ungird" can carry a figurative sense of loosening that preparation, though the literal sense of unbuckling a belt is the original one. The verb is rare in modern English and survives mostly in older translations and poetry.