undergird

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The Word of the Day for April 4 is:

undergird   \un-der-GURD\   verb
     : to form the basis or foundation of : strengthen, support

Example sentence:
     The mayor cited examples of the fire department's 
inefficiency to undergird his request for a new fire station.

Did you know?
     The English verb "gird" means, among other things, "to 
encircle or bind with a flexible band." When "undergird" first 
entered English in the 16th century it meant "to make secure 
underneath," as by passing a rope or chain underneath something 
(such as a ship). That literal sense has long since fallen out 
of use, but in the 19th century "undergird" picked up the 
figurative "strengthen" or "support" sense that we still 
use. "Gird" and consequently "undergird" both derive from the 
Old English "geard," meaning "enclosure" or "yard." "Gird" also 
gives us "girder," a noun referring to a horizontal piece 
supporting a structure.