guard

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

For verb: From early Middle French or late Old French (circa 14th cent) guarder (“to keep, ward, guard, save, preserve, etc.”), from Frankish *wardōn (from Proto-Germanic *wardo-), cognate with Old English weardian (from which English to ward). Compare French garder. See also English regard.

For noun: From Middle English garde, from early Middle French or late Old French guarde (“a guardian, warden, keeper”) (whence modern French garde), from the verb guarder.

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

guard (plural guards)

  1. A person who, or thing that, protects or watches over something.
    The prison guard unlocked the door of the cell.
    After completing the repairs, he replaced the sump guard.
  2. (military) A squad responsible for protecting something.
    The president inspected the guard of honour.
  3. A part of a machine which blocks access to dangerous parts.
    The motorcycle mechanic removed the damaged chain guard.
  4. (Australia) A panel of a car that encloses the wheel area, especially the front wheels.
    • 1996 December 24, Pendles, “Tyres rubbing on guards”, aus.cars, Usenet:
      Another possible way is to go for a lower profile tyre (50 series). This effectively lowers the distance of the tyre wall away from the guard (not by much though and generally, the lower the profile, the wider the tyre so the tyre may stick out more as well).
    • 1999 November 23, Nathan, “Rolling Guards?”, aus.cars, Usenet:
      The reason I'm asking - Whenever I put some weight in the back of the car (say - a passenger or two) the rear tyres can sometimes hit the guards.
    • 2001 June 12, Confusement, “Position N or D”, alt.autos, Usenet:
      I had just bought myself broken headlights, a f**ked up grill, a front guard bent into my front tyre, a leaky radiator and one *SLIGHTLY* bent chassis rail end. I turned the key on my stalled motor and she kicked over first go - if it weren't for the guard bent into the tyre, I could've driven home later if I wanted to.
  5. (basketball) A relatively short player, playing farther from the basket than a forward or center.
  6. (cricket) The position on the popping crease where a batsman makes a mark to align himself with the wicket; see take guard.
  7. (American football) Either of two offensive positions between the center and each of the offensive tackles, whose main responsibilities are to protect the quarterback, and open up "holes" through which offensive players can run.
  8. (sports) A player playing a position named guard.
  9. (rail transport) An employee, normally travelling in the last vehicle of a train, responsible for the safety of the train.

Synonyms [edit]

  • (part of machine blocking dangerous parts): protection
  • (panel of a car enclosing a wheel): fender

Derived terms [edit]

Terms derived from the noun guard

Translations [edit]

person who or thing that protects something
group protecting something
part of machine blocking dangerous parts
player in sports in general
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb [edit]

guard (third-person singular simple present guards, present participle guarding, simple past and past participle guarded)

  1. To protect from danger; to secure against surprise, attack, or injury; to keep in safety; to defend.
    • Shakespeare
      For Heaven still guards the right.
  2. To keep watch over, in order to prevent escape or restrain from acts of violence, or the like.
    Guard the prisoner.
  3. To protect the edge of, especially with an ornamental border; hence, to face or ornament with lists, laces, etc.
    • Shakespeare
      The body of your discourse is sometime guarded with fragments, and the guards are but slightly basted on neither.
  4. To fasten by binding; to gird.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)

Translations [edit]

To protect from some offence

External links [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

Retrieved from "http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=guard&oldid=20592338"