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bodyguard

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Etymology and origin of the English word bodyguard

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound, Calque
First attested
1701
Ultimate origins
Old English bodigMiddle French garde
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English body
English bodyguard
From the same root
English antibody ← body
English nobody ← body

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈbɒdiɡɑːd/[1]
  • US: /ˈbɑːdiɡɑːɹd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English body + guard,[2][3][4][5] after French garde du corps, used in Middle French from the 15th century in both its senses.[2] The OED compares the earlier lifeguard.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A group of people, especially soldiers, who protect or escort a ruler or other dignitary: 1701.[2][4][6] Etymonline's first date is 1735, for a retinue charged with protecting one person,[3] and Dictionary.com dates the word 1725–35.[5]

Semantic evolution

The word was first a collective noun for the whole escort; it is recorded for a single member of such a guard from 1703,[2][6] and Etymonline dates this sense to 1861.[3] Today it is chiefly used of a person employed to protect another.[2][7] The verb, to act as a bodyguard for someone, is recorded from 1880 in the OED,[2] and Merriam-Webster dates it to 1859.[4]

Timeline

  • 1701 – a group of people protecting a dignitary.[2][4]
  • 1703 – a member of a bodyguard.[2]
  • 1735 – Etymonline's first date, a retinue or escort.[3]
  • 1859 – verb, to work as a bodyguard (Merriam-Webster).[4]
  • 1880 – verb, to act as a bodyguard for someone (OED).[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person, usually armed, whose job is to protect another: The singer arrived with two bodyguards.[7][4][2]
  2. A group of such people escorting and protecting a ruler or dignitary; a retinue.[7][4][5][2]

Verb

  1. To act or work as a bodyguard, or to guard a person in this way.[4][2][5]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Bodyguard.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/bodyguard. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·