August 14, 2009
- guardian (noun)
- \GAHR-dee-un\
- What does it mean?
- 1 : one that guards : custodian2 : one who legally has the care of a person or the property of another
- How do you use it?
- In the novel, the brother and sister attempted various schemes to escape from their cranky and ornery guardian but try as they might, they always ended up back at his estate.
- Are you a word wiz?
Which of these do you think is the path "guardian" took to modern English?
"Guardian" comes from the Middle English word "gardein" -- also spelled "wardein" -- and the Middle English word traces back to Anglo-French "wardein" or "gardein." If you think "wardein" looks similar to "warden," you're onto something. The word "warden" (meaning "one who has charge or care of something") is also a descendant of "wardein, gardein." But the story doesn't stop there. "Wardein, gardein" comes from the Anglo-French verb "warder" or "garder," meaning "to guard." And "warder, garder" is the ancestor of several English words, including "award," "guard" and "wardrobe."
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