ward
/wɔːd/ · noun
Meaning
- A warden; a guard; a guardian or watchman.
- Protection, defence.
- The action of a watchman; monitoring, surveillance (usually in phrases keep ward etc.)
- Guardianship, especially of a child or prisoner.
- An enchantment or spell placed over a designated area or social unit, that prevents any tresspasser from entering; approaching; or even being able to locate said protected premises or demographic.
- A guarding or defensive motion or position.
- Land tenure through military service.
- A protected place, and by extension, a type of subdivision.
- An area of a castle, corresponding to a circuit of the walls.
- A section or subdivision of a prison.
- An administrative division of a borough, city or council.
- A division of a forest.
- A subdivision of the LDS Church, smaller than and part of a stake, but larger than a branch.
- To keep in safety, to watch over, to guard.
- To defend, to protect.
- To fend off, to repel, to turn aside, as anything mischievous that approaches. (usually followed by off)
- To be vigilant; to keep guard.
- To act on the defensive with a weapon.
- An English surname originating as an occupation for a guard or watchman.
- An English male given name.
- A placename
- A parish of Castleknock, Fingal, Ireland.
- A river in Ireland; in full, Ward River.
- A small town in Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand, named after Joseph Ward.
- Ellipsis of Ward Beach: a coastline in Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand.
- A locale in the United States:
- An unincorporated community in Sumter County, Alabama.
- A city in Lonoke County, Arkansas.
- A town in Boulder County, Colorado.
- An unincorporated community in Jackson Township, Boone County, Indiana.
- Clipping of Edward (a corruption of the name Edward).
- Clipping of Howard.
Etymology / origin
From Middle English warde, from Old English weard (“keeper, watchman, guard, guardian, protector; lord, king; possessor”), from Proto-Germanic *warduz (“guard, keeper”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to heed, defend”). Cognate with Dutch waard, German Wart.
- wart(German)→
- waard(Dutch)→
- *wer-(ine-pro)→
- *warduz(gem-pro)→
- weard(Old English)→
- warde(Middle English)→
- *wer-(ine-pro)→
- ward (English)
- Relations: root, inh, inh, inh, der, cog, cog
Related words
*wer-(ine-pro)warde(Middle English)weard(Old English)*warduz(gem-pro)waard(Dutch)wart(German)woatn(Bavarian)wade(Central Franconian)varde(Danish)garde(French)Wirt(German)warten(German)wad(Iban)waarden(Luxembourgish)वडा(Nepali)varða(Old Norse)waarde(Pennsylvania German)guarida(Spanish)wodi(Swahili)varde(Swedish)vård(Swedish)wot(Tok Pisin)וואַרטן(Yiddish)iwodi(Zulu)
Descendant words
- woatn(Bavarian) (cog)
- wade(Central Franconian) (cog)
- varde(Danish) (cog)
- garde(French) (cog)
- Wirt(German) (cog)
- wart(German) (cog)
- warten(German) (cog)
- wad(Iban) (bor)
- waarden(Luxembourgish) (cog)
- वडा(Nepali) (bor)
- varða(Old Norse) (cog)
- waarde(Pennsylvania German) (cog)
- guarida(Spanish) (cog)
- wodi(Swahili) (bor)
- varde(Swedish) (cog)
- vård(Swedish) (cog)
- wot(Tok Pisin) (inh)
- וואַרטן(Yiddish) (cog)
- iwodi(Zulu) (bor)
Sources
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