Graith
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Preparation; arrangement; condition. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"[…] tho' foul and tatter'd / In my present garb and graith"
- 2 Accoutrements: clothes, materials, equipment, furniture, etc. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Item, to James Homel, to buy graith for the King's vellum doublet, 0[L.] 10[s.] 0[d.]"
- 1 To make ready; prepare; put in order; make fit for use. Scotland, obsolete
"Gowden graith'd his horse before, and siller shod behind […]"
- 2 To dress (someone or oneself) or be dressed. UK, dialectal, obsolete
"At fairs he play'd before the spearmen, All gaily graithed in their gear-men."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Gowden graith'd his horse before, and siller shod behind […]"
Etymology
From Middle English graithen, greithen, graiden, grathen, from Old Norse greiða (“to make ready, prepare, arrange, disentangle”), from Proto-Germanic *garaidijaną (“to prepare, put in order”). Cognate with Old English ġerǣdan (“to arrange, dispose, order, provide for, harness”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (garaidjan, “to enjoin”).
From Middle English graith, graythe, greithe, from Old Norse greiði (“preparation, arrangement”), from Proto-Germanic *garaidiją (“apparatus, gadget”). Cognate with Icelandic greiðe, greiði (“preparation, arrangement, order, hospitality”), Faroese greiði (“requisite articles”), Norwegian greida (“implements, tackle”), Norwegian greide (“harness”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.