sentry

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a guard posted to watch a place, especially to warn of danger or prevent unauthorized entry

   A sentry checked every vehicle at the gate before waving it through.

2. 2
   noun

   the duty or period of duty performed by such a guard

   He stood sentry outside the camp until dawn.

From earlier English sentrie or sentery, of uncertain origin. It is often taken as an alteration of sentinel, though an older proposal connects it with Old French sentier ("path") or its diminutive. The military guard sense has been established since the seventeenth century.

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