Noun in her farewell speech, the departing governor got in some retaliatory girds at the media
Word History
Etymology
Verb (1)
Middle English girden "to encircle the waist of, put a belt about, prepare (oneself)," going back to Old English gyrdan "to encircle with a belt, equip," going back to Germanic *gurđjan- (whence also Old Saxon gurdian "to encircle with a belt," Old High German gurten, Old Norse gyrða), probably from a zero-grade derivative of the Indo-European root seen in *ghorto- or *ghordho- "enclosure" — more at yard entry 1