guard

A2 Topic:People & Society

US /ɡɑɹd/ UK /ɡɑːd/ See IPA manual

Freq #1179

Meanings

1

noun
A person whose job is to protect or watch over a place, person, or thing.

The guard checked our tickets at the gate.
2

verb
To protect someone or something by watching carefully.

Two soldiers guarded the entrance all night.
3

verb
To take care to prevent something bad from happening.

You should guard against catching a cold in winter.
4

noun
A device that covers something to protect a person from harm.

Always keep the guard on the saw blade when not in use.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms guardedguardednessguardingguardsunguardedunguardedly

Derived forms foreguardguardableguardageguardeeguardinglyunguard

Appears in

Phrases (4)

See all

guard dog
a dog kept to protect property or people from intruders

Adjective + noun
border guard
an officer who checks or protects a country's boundary

Noun + noun
guard rail
A protective barrier along a road or other edge that helps prevent falls or collisions.

Noun + noun
off guard
unprepared or not paying close enough attention to respond immediately

Preposition + noun

Simplified etymology

Guard ultimately comes from an old Germanic element meaning “to watch or guard.” The Franks carried it into Romance speech, where its initial w became g or gu; English then borrowed the Old French g-form garde, alongside native w-forms such as ward.

Etymology

From early Middle French garder or late Old French (circa 14th cent) guarder (“to keep, ward, guard, save, preserve, etc.”), from Early Medieval Latin wardo, from Frankish *wardēn, from Proto-Germanic *wardāną (“to guard, protect”). Cognate with French garder, Old English weardian (whence also the English inherited doublet ward). See also English regard.

garder Middle French wardo la-eme *wardēn frk *wardāną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# guard

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ɡɑɹd/
**IPA (UK):** /ɡɑːd/
**Frequency rank:** 1179

## Meanings
1. A person whose job is to protect or watch over a place, person, or thing.
2. To protect someone or something by watching carefully.
3. To take care to prevent something bad from happening.
4. A device that covers something to protect a person from harm.

## Examples
- The guard checked our tickets at the gate.
- Two soldiers guarded the entrance all night.
- You should guard against catching a cold in winter.
- Always keep the guard on the saw blade when not in use.

## Derived Forms
- foreguard
- guardable
- guardage
- guardee
- guardingly
- unguard

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: garder
- Root: wardo
- Root: *wardēn
- Root: *wardāną

## Etymology
From early Middle French garder or late Old French (circa 14th cent) guarder (“to keep, ward, guard, save, preserve, etc.”), from Early Medieval Latin wardo, from Frankish *wardēn, from Proto-Germanic *wardāną (“to guard, protect”). Cognate with French garder, Old English weardian (whence also the English inherited doublet ward). See also English regard.

## AI Etymology
Guard comes from early Middle French garder or late Old French (circa 14th cent) guarder (“to keep, ward, guard, save, preserve, etc.”), from Early Medieval Latin wardo, from Frankish *wardēn, from Proto-Germanic *wardāną (“to guard, protect”). Cognate with French garder, Old English weardian (whence also the English inherited doublet ward). See also English regard. In current use, the main senses are “A person whose job is to protect or watch over a place, person, or thing” and “To protect someone or something by watching carefully”.

## Topics
- People & Society

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