undergird
undergird Lexical Profile
undergird Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To provide a secure foundation, fundamental support, or strengthening basis for something, especially an argument, theory, or institution.
"Rigorous empirical research must undergird any new public health policy."
To secure or strengthen from beneath, especially by passing a rope, cable, or chain under the hull of a ship.
"The ancient mariners had to undergird the wooden vessel with heavy ropes to keep its timbers from splitting in the tempest."
Word Nuance & Usage
Both "undergirded" and "undergirt" are accepted as past tense and past participle forms, though "undergirded" is far more common in modern standard English.
• Rhymes for undergird
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the early 16th century by English Bible translator William Tyndale from "under-" and "gird" (from Old English gyrdan, meaning to encircle or bind) to describe the nautical practice of passing cables underneath a ship's hull during a storm.