giraffe 
rarely attempts to pick up food from the ground. Its 
color is usually li^lit-fawn marked with darker spots, and 
passing into white on the under parts and snine portions of 
[he limbs. It is a mild and Inoffensive animal, and in cap- 
tivity is very gentle and playful. 
The uifiifff is, in some respects, intermediate between 
the hollow-homed and solid-horned ruminant*, though 
partaking more of the nature of the deer. On-t'll, Anal. 
2. [c<y>.] The constellation Camelopardalis. 
3. In mining, a car of peculiar construction, 
used in the mines on the Comstock lode, to 
run on the inclines. 4. A. kind of upright 
spiiiet, used toward the end of the eighteenth 
century. 
giraffid (ji-raf id), n. One of the Giraffidai; a 
camelopard. 
Giraffidae (ji-raf'i-de), . pi. [NL., < Gira/a + 
-/V'.] A family of ruminant artiodactyl ungu- 
late mammals, having the placenta polycotyle- 
donary and the stomach quadripartite with 
developed psalterium, the cervical vertebrse 
much elongated, the dorsolumbars declivous 
backward, and horns present only as frontal 
apophyses covered with integument; the gi- 
raft'es or camelopards. The family contains but 
one living species, the giraffe. Also Camelo- 
jiardida:, Camelopardalidte. 
Giraffina (jir-a-fi'n&), n. pi. [NL., < Giraffa + 
-ina : see giraffe.'] A family of ruminant ani- 
mals, also called Devexa, containing only one 
living species, the giraffe: same as Giraffldai. 
The sivatherium and some other Sivalik fossils 
are related to it. 
Grirafibidea (jir-a-foi'de-a), n. pi. [NL., < Gi- 
raffa + -oidca.] The giraffids as a super- 
family, conterminous with GHrajfldct, T. Gill, 
1872. 
Giraldesian (jir-al-de'si-an), it. Pertaining to 
the French anatomist J. A. C. Giraldes (bo/n 
1808). Giraldesian organ, the organ of Giraldes, the 
paradidymus. 
girandole (jir'an-dol), M. [< F. girandole = Sp. 
girdndula = Pg. girandula, < It. giraitdola, a 
chandelier, shift, maze, < girare, < L. gyrare, 
turn: see gyre, gyrate.'] 1. A branched light- 
holder, whether for candles or lamps, whether 
standing on a foot (see candelabrum) or serving 
as a bracket projecting from the wall. The 
former is the more common signification in 
English use. 
This room . . . was adorned at close intervals with 
girandole* of silver and mother-of-pearl. Buliver. 
2. A kind of revolving firework ; a pyrotech- 
nic revolving sun; also, any revolving jet of 
similar form or character: as, a girandole of 
water. 
A triton of brasse holds a dolphin that casts a girandola 
of water neere 30 f oote high. Evelyn, Diary, April 1, 1644. 
3. A piece of jewelry of pendent form, often 
consisting of a central larger pendant surround- 
ed by smaller ones. 4. In fort., a connection 
of several mine-chambers for the defense of 
the place of arms of the covered way. 
girantt, . An obsolete spelling of gyrant. 
girasol. girasole (jir'a-sol, -sol), n. [< F. gira- 
sol = Sp. Pg. girasol, < It. girasole, sunflower, 
fire-opal, < girare, turn (see gyre), + sole, the 
sun(seese>0- Cf. turnsole, parasol.] A mineral, 
also known as fire-opal. It is a transparent variety 
of opal, usually milk-white, bluish-white, or sky-blue, 
and reflects a reddish glow in any bright light, whence 
its name. 
Upon liis [an elephant's] back, which was covered with 
a magnificent Persian carpet, . . . stood a sort of estrade, 
. . . constellated with onyx stones, carnelians, chrysolites, 
lapis-lazuli, and girasols. 
L. Hearn, tr. of Gautier's Cleop. Nights, p. 241. 
giratet, ' ' An obsolete spelling of gyrate. 
gird 1 (gerd), . t.; pret. and pp. girt or girded, 
ppr. girding. [< ME. ijirden, gerden, gurdeii, < 
AS. gyrdan = OS. gurdian, gurdan = D. gar- 
den = MLG. garden, LG. gorreti = OHG. gurteii, 
curten, MHG. gurten, giirten, G. gurteii = Icel. 
(/i/rdha = Sw. gjorda = Dan. gjorde, gird; weak 
verbs, allied to Goth. bi-gairda>i, inclose (cf. 
E. begird), from the same root as Goth, gards = 
AS. geard, E. yard 2 , gartlii, garden, girth: see 
garth 1 , girth, garden, j/nrci 2 .] 1. To bind or 
confine by encircling with any flexible mate- 
rial, as a cord, bandage, or cloth : as, to gird 
the waist with a sash. 
No nor very fast wylle he rnnne neyther, whiche how 
lytle so euer he hath on his backe, is yet so harde and 
strayght gyrte therein, that vneth canne he drawe his 
breath. Sic T. More, Works, p. 1402. 
All women . . . did gird themselves so high that the 
distance betwixt their shoulders and their girdle seemed 
to be but a little handf all. Coryat, Crudities, I. 89. 
Then Christian began to gird up his loins, and to ad- 
dress himself to his journey. 
Bum/an, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 101. 
159 
2519 
2. To make fast by binding; put on by tying 
or fastening: usually with on : as, to gird on a 
sword. 
Over all they wear an half-sleeved coat girl unto them 
with a towell. Santlyx, Travailes, p. 50. 
They were enjoined both to sleep and to worship with 
the sword yirt on their side, in token of readiness for ac- 
tion. Prescott, Ferd. and Isa., i. 6'. 
Diana's feet pressed down 
The forest greensward, and her girded gown 
Cleared from the brambles fell about her thigh. 
William Miu-ris, Earthly Paradise, III. 101. 
3. To surround; encircle; encompass; inclose. 
Hail to the crown by Freedom shaped to gird 
An English Sovereign's brow. 
Wonlmvrth, Excursion, vi. 
The hillsides bleak and bare 
That gird my home. 
0. W. Holmes, An Evening Thought. 
Ever the fiery Pentecost 
Girds with one flame the countless host. 
Emerson, The Problem. 
4. To invest; clothe; dress; furnish; endue. 
"So god me helpe," seide Gawein, "that I shall neuer 
be witli swerde girte till that he me girde." 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 190. 
Because he had not yet received the Order of Knight- 
hood, he was by Henry Earl of Lancaster yirt solemnly 
with the Sword, and on the first Day of February follow- 
ing was crowned at Westminster by Walter Reginald, 
Archbishop of Canterbury. Baker, Chronicles, p. 116. 
The Son . . . appear'd, 
Girt with omnipotence. Milton, P. L., vii. 194. 
The sights with which thon torturest yird my soul 
With new endurance. 
Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, i. 1. 
To gird one's self, (a) To tighten the girdle and tuck 
up loose garments by means of it, in preparation for a jour- 
ney or for toil. 
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, 
thou yirdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou would- 
est. John xxi. 18. 
Hence (b) Figuratively, to brace the mind or spirit for 
any effort or trial. 
gird 1 (gerd), n. [Sc., alsogwr; other forms of 
girth, q. v.] A hoop, especially one for a bar- 
rel, tub, or the like. 
What ails ye, what ails ye, Fair Annie, 
That ye make sic a moan ? 
Has your wine barrels cast the girds, 
Or is your white bread gone ? 
Fair Annie (Child's Ballads, III. 196). 
gird 2 (gerd), v. [< ME. girden, gerden, gyrdeii, 
garden, garden, strike, thrust, smite (frequently 
with reference to cutting off the head) ; prob. 
orig. ' strike with a rod,' < gerd, gierd, usually 
with palatal gerd, yerd, a rod, yard : see yard 1 . 
See gride, a doublet of gird^.'] I. trans. If. 
To strike ; smite. 
To thise cherles two he gan to preye 
To sleen him and to girden of his head. 
Chaucer, Monk's Tale, 1. 556. 
2. To lash with the tongue; gibe; reproach 
severely; taunt; upbraid. 
Being mov'd, he will not spare to gird the gods. 
Shak., Cor., i. 1. 
Now to use these fine taunts and girds to his enemies, 
it was a part of a good orator ; but so commonly to yird 
every man to make the people laugh, that won him great 
ill-will of many. North, tr. of Plutarch, p. 721. 
His life is a perpetuall Satyre, and he is still girding the 
ages vanity ; when this very anger shewes he too much es- 
teemes it. 
Bp. Earle, Micro-cosmographie, A Discontented Han. 
II. intrans. If. To leap or spring with vio- 
lence; rush. 
Merlin ledde a trauerse till thei come vpon hem be- 
hynde, and than thei girde in a-monge hem crewelly. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ill. 596. 
His page gave his horse such a lash with his whippe, 
that he made him so to gird forward, as the very points of 
the darts came by the horse tayle. 
North, tr. of Plutarch, p. 620. 
2. To gibe; jeer; mock. 
Men of all sorts take a pride to gird at me. 
SAai.,2Hen. IV., i. 2. 
They say yon have nothing but Humonrs, Revels, and 
Satires, that gird ... at the time. 
B. Jonson, Poetaster, iii. 1. 
The girl was confused by his changed aspect, his eager, 
restless talk, his fierce yfrdiny at his patient wife. 
M. N. Murfree, Tennessee Mountains, Lost Creek. 
gird 2 (gerd), n. [< gircft, v.~\ If. A stroke with 
a switch or whip ; hence, a twinge or pang. 
Conscience by this means is freed from many fearful 
girds and twinges which the atheist feels. Tillotsm. 
We have now and then instances of men who lead very 
flagitious lives, and yet feel not any of these qualms or 
guirds of conscience. Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, II. xvi. 
My heart relented, and gave me several girds and twitch- 
es for the barbarous treatment which I had shown to Mrs. 
Lucy. Steele, Lover, No. 7. 
2t. A short sudden effort ; a spurt. 
girding-beam 
Like a haggard, you know not where to take him. Ho 
hunts well for a gird, but is soon at a loss. 
AVr. 7'. .Idtiui*, Works, I. 475. 
3. A sneer ; a gibe ; a taunt ; a stroke of sar- 
casm. 
Fur as I am readie t<> sati.stle the reasonable, so I have 
nyird iu store for the railer. Lntgc, Fig for Momus, Pref. 
A yird at the pope for his saucinesse in God's matters. 
Reginald Scott. 
girdelt, A Middle English form of girdle 1 . 
girder* (ger'der). . [<.girdl +-e;-!.] 1. One 
who or that which girds, binds, or encircles. 
Specifically 2. A main beam of either wood 
or iron, resting with each end upon a wall or 
pier, used to support a superstructure or a su- 
perincumbent weight, as a floor, the upper wall 
of a house, the roadway of a bridge ; or the like. 
Wooden girders, when in two or more pieces, take the 
form of built-up tieanis, arched 1 teams, or compound beams. 
When composed of upper and lower horizontal mem- 
bers, united by vertical and diagonal pieces, the girder 
is called a lattice-girder. When reinforced by iron rods 
a wooden beam may form a trussed girder. Iron girders 
Girders tin cross-section). 
a to /, wrought-iron girders; m to e, cast-iron girders; aa, box- 
firder; bb, i 
-girder. 
impound I-girder ; cc, compound-beam girder ; dti. 
are simple or compound, and are made of cast-iron or 
wrought-iron, or both combined. The most simple form 
is the common rolled or cast I- or T-beam. Compound 
beams are composed of plate- and angle-irons built to- 
gether in various forms, the most simple having a plate- 
iron web united to upper and lower plate-iron members 
by meansof angle-irons. More complicated forms include 
girders with two webs (the box-girder), or with three or 
more webs, or with groups of rolled beams united. Iron 
girders also appeal 1 in many latticed forms, and are largely 
used in bridge-building. (See bridge, girder-bridge.') A very 
notable and extensive use of girders is in the structure of 
elevated railroads. Also called girdiny-beam. 
What girder binds, what prop the frame sustains? 
Blackmore, Creation, iv. 
A beam which is intended to be supported at each end. 
and to carry its load between the ends, is called a girder. 
K. S. Ball, Exper. Mechanics, p. 221. 
Arched girder. See arched beam, under arched. Con- 
tinuous girder, a girder with more than two supports. 
Plate-Iron girder, a girder constructed either of 
wrought-iron plates rolled with flanges or of flat plates 
supported by angle-irons. Stiffening girder, a truss 
used to stiffen a suspension-bridge. 
girder 2 (ger'dfrr), n. [< (/jrrf2 + -eri.] One 
who girds or gibes; a satirist. 
We great girders call it a short say of sharp wit. 
Lyly, Alexander and Campaspe, iii. 2. 
girder-bridge (ger'der-brij), H. A bridge in 
which the support is afforded by girders or 
beams. At the period of development of railway con- 
struction many bridges were built with cast-iron girders ; 
the limit of safe span of such was generally accepted as 40 
feet. This limitation, and the treacherous nature of the 
material, led to the substitution of wronght-iron formed 
into plates, which were placed vertically and strengthened 
and stiffened by angle-irons. The latter form of construc- 
tion culminated in the box -girder bridge or tubular bridge. 
Bridges with framed girders are more generally called 
truss-bridges or arched-girder bridges. See arched-beam 
bridge, under bridge!, 1. 
girding 1 (ger'ding), n. [Verbal n. of gird 1 , .] 
1. The act of binding, confining, or retaining 
with a girdle : usually with up. 
Patience is (as it were) the girding up of the soul, which 
like the girding up of the body gives it both strength and 
decency too. South, Works, X. iv. 
2. The use or office of a girdle in retaining gar- 
ments ; also, something girded on. 
And instead of a stomacher, a girdiny of sackcloth. 
Isa. iii. 24. 
girding 2 (ger'ding), p. a. [Ppr. of gird?, r.] 
Gibing; taunting; sarcastic. 
It could not but go deep into thy soul, to hear these 
bitter and girding reproaches from them thou earnest to 
save. Bp. Hall, The Crucifixion. 
girding-beam (ger'ding-bem), n. Same as 
girder^, 2. 
