Oh my word Gird, Grid, Girdle

Gird means surrounding something: Coconut trees girded the paddy fields. Gird means clothe something or somebody: Soldiers girded in army fatigues were seen strolling up and down the Dal Lake in Srinagar. Gird up one’s loins is an idiom meaning prepare for action. Gird something on is a phrasal verb: To fasten something on such as with a belt or sheath (He girded his trousers with a belt so that it will not lower down).

Gird is a verb: Its past tense and past participle are girded, or girt which is archaic. The derivatives of gird are girds, girding, girded, girt. Girder is a framework of iron or steel beams used to build a network of roads or buildings or any large structure. Girders are not uncommon to be seen in many developing countries for they are building highways and buildings.

“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Girdle is a cord or belt worn by men to lower garments such as trousers and dhotis, and also women to keep the garments in desired position. The word functions as a noun, and verb. Rhetorically, girdle refers to that which surrounds something else (The town has a girdle of ring road. The city has the river as its girdle. The town was girdled with hills).

Girdle is spelt as griddle in Scottish English: In Scotland, griddles are used to bake flat cakes. Bridal girdles are quite popular in the Indian subcontinent. Grid is a framework of beams or bars made out of wood or steel or iron. The framework can be rods or beams in the positions of cross or parallel metal or wooden bars.

Cattle-grid prevents the buffaloes from straying. Other meanings of grid are: A network of lines crossing at right angles, and parallel lines (Chandigarh is laid out on a grid pattern), network of squares on a map for identifying something easily. India has five electricity grids across the country: In this context, grid is a system of electric cables or gas-supply lines for distributing power evenly over a large area. Indian electricity/power network is divided into five regional grids for planning and operational purposes. But it was only in the nineties that the integration of regional grids and the establishment of national grid was conceptualised.