safeguard

See also: safe-guard

English

Etymology

From Middle English savegard, from Middle French sauvegarde, from Old French salve garde, sauve garde, reconstructed as safe +‎ guard.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɪfɡɑː(ɹ)d/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

safeguard (plural safeguards)

1. Something that serves as a guard or protection; a defense.

   Getting a flu shot is a good safeguard against illness.

2. One who, or that which, defends or protects; defence; protection.
   • 1726, George Granville, To the King, in the First Year of His Majesty’s Reign:

     Thy sword, the safeguard of thy brother's throne.

3. A safe-conduct or passport, especially in time of war.
   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

     the inheritance of their loves and safeguard

4. (obsolete) The monitor lizard.
   • 1844, The Animal Kingdom:

     The same idea is entertained of the Safeguard in America, as of the Monitor in Africa, and other parts of the Old World, […]

Translations

something that serves as a guard or protection; a defense

• Bulgarian: защита (bg) f (zaštita), охрана (bg) f (ohrana)
• Danish: beskyttelse (da) c, værn n
• Finnish: suoja (fi)
• Georgian: დაცვა (dacva), დამცველი (damcveli)
• German: Sicherung (de) f, Schutz (de) m, Absicherung (de) f
• Greek: διασφάλιση (el) f (diasfálisi), εξασφάλιση (el) f (exasfálisi)
• Italian: salvaguardia (it) f, tutela (it) f, difesa (it) f, garanzia (it) f
• Norwegian: sikring (no) m or f
• Portuguese: salvaguarda (pt) f
• Russian: гара́нтия (ru) f (garántija)
• Slovak: poistka, ochrana
• Spanish: salvaguardia (es) f

a safe-conduct, especially in time of war

• Finnish: kulkulupa (fi)
• Serbo-Croatian: obezbjeđenje n
• Spanish: salvaguardia (es) f

Verb

safeguard (third-person singular simple present safeguards, present participle safeguarding, simple past and past participle safeguarded)

1. To protect, to keep safe.

   She kept a savings to safeguard against debt and emergencies.

   • 2020 November 18, “Network News: London 'bailout' achieved with just minutes to spare”, in Rail, page 10:

     "[...] Crossrail 2 is mothballed. It is safeguarded, it is absolutely not cancelled."

2. (UK, Ireland, by extension) To implement safeguarding.
3. To escort safely.

Translations

to protect, to keep safe

• Bulgarian: предпазвам (bg) (predpazvam), гарантирам (bg) (garantiram)
• Danish: beskytte (da), sikre
• Finnish: turvata (fi), suojata (fi)
• French: protéger (fr)
• Galician: amparar (gl), protexer (gl), gardar (gl)
• Georgian: დაცვა (dacva)
• German: absichern (de) (with gegen), schützen (de) (with vor)
• Hebrew: לְאַבְטֵחַ (le'avtéach)
• Ido: salvogardar
• Italian: salvaguardare (it)
• Latin: munio (la), praemunio
• Malayalam: സംരക്ഷിക്കുക (saṁrakṣikkuka)
• Maori: whakahaumaru
• Portuguese: salvaguardar (pt)
• Quechua: hat'alliy
• Romanian: salvgarda (ro)
• Slovak: zabezpečiť, zabezpečovať
• Spanish: salvaguardar (es), resguardar (es)

to escort safely

• Bulgarian: охранявам (bg) (ohranjavam)
• Finnish: suojata (fi), turvata (fi)

Anagrams

• saufgarde