Etymologically
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bodyguard

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 21:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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