Third person singular present tense of begird; surrounds or encircles something completely.
From Middle English begirden, combining the prefix be- (meaning 'around' or 'about') with gird (from Old English gyrdan, meaning 'to encircle with a belt or band'). The prefix intensifies the action of the base verb.
The prefix 'be-' is a linguistic time traveler—it was once a standalone preposition in Old English meaning 'by' or 'about,' but gradually fused to verbs to add intensity and completeness. You see this in words like 'behead' (to head around/remove) and 'befriend' (to friend around/make a friend of).
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