Etymologically
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ward

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /wɔːd/, US /wɔːrd/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English warde, inherited from Old English weard (“a guarding, protection; a guard”),[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *wardō,[3][4] from an extension of the root of wary and ware,[4][3] the PIE root Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to perceive, watch out for”).[2] The verb is from Old English weardian “to guard, protect”.[3][2][5] It is related to German Warte “watchtower” and warten “to wait, look after”,[3][2] and is a doublet of guard, which came through French from the same Germanic word;[2][3] some of its Middle English senses were reinforced by Old North French warde and warder.[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A watchman or guard: before 680 in the OED.[7] The verb, to guard or keep safe, is from before 1035 in the OED.[7]

Semantic evolution

Guardianship in general is from about 1205, and the guardianship of a child or minor from about 1290; a person under a guardian is from 1433, in the Rolls of Parliament.[7][3] An administrative district of a city, first perhaps as a place for guarding, is from about 1378, though Latin documents use it from about 1130.[3][2] The notches in a lock or key that stop the wrong key from turning it are from the 15th century,[4] a division of a prison from the 16th,[4] and a room in a hospital from Smollett's translation of Gil Blas (1749).[3] To parry a blow is from before 1387,[3] and to fend off, as in ward off, followed.[2][4]

Timeline

  • a680 – a guard, a watchman.[7]
  • c. 1205 – guardianship.[7]
  • c. 1378 – a district of a town.[3]
  • 1433 – a person under a guardian.[3]
  • 15th century – the wards of a lock.[4]
  • 1749 – a hospital ward.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A room or section of a hospital for patients needing similar care.
  2. A division of a city or town for elections and administration.
  3. A person, especially a child, under the care of a guardian or a court.
  4. A division of a prison.
  5. A notch or ridge in a lock or key that lets only the right key turn.

Verb

  1. (ward off) To turn aside or keep away.
  2. (archaic) To guard or protect.

Word family

  • wardless
  • steward
  • wardroom
  • wardship
  • woodward
  • warder

Usage notes

Ward is also a Scots and northern aphetic form of award,[7][8] and in East Anglia a callus on the hands or feet.[8]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)