watchman

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English wacche-man,^[2][3][4] formed from Middle English wacche (“watch”) + man,^[2][3][5] that is watch and man.^[5][4][6] The OED compares the earlier wakeman, recorded from about 1175.^[5] It thinks surnames such as Willelmus Wacheman (before 1184) probably show that the word was in use earlier, though they may be nicknames for a watchful person;^[5] Etymonline dates the surname to the late 12th century.^[4] wacche is from Old English wæcce (“a watching, wakefulness”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A member of a body of men appointed to keep watch in a town from sunset to sunrise: about 1400, in the Scottish Burgh Laws.^[5] Etymonline dates the word, as wacche-man, to about 1400, as a guard, sentinel or lookout.^[4] Dictionary.com gives 1350–1400,^[7] and the Merriam-Webster Unabridged the 15th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th century the word was also used of a military sentry or lookout (1440, in the Promptorium Parvulorum),^[5][2] figuratively of a guardian or protector (1447),^[5][4][2] and of a person who stays awake.^[2][4] Religious uses followed: from 1563 a watchman could be one who watches over the spiritual affairs of others, such as a prophet or a member of the clergy;^[5] an angel was also called a watchman from before 1555 to 1882.^[5] The sense of a guard employed to protect private property, especially at night, is recorded from 1600.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as a guard or sentinel, quoting Bacon on taking someone before a justice by the watchmen of London's streets.^[8] The Shorter Oxford notes that the military sense is now rare except in allusions to the Bible, such as Psalm 127:1 in the King James Version.^[6] The city watchman who patrolled the streets at night belongs to the past.^[9][3] Since 1822 the name has also been given to a dung beetle that flies with a loud hum at dusk.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1400 – a member of a town's night watch.^[5] Etymonline gives about 1400 for a guard, sentinel or lookout.^[4]
• 1440 – a military guard, sentinel or lookout.^[5][2]
• 1447 – a person who keeps vigil; a guardian or protector.^[5][4]
• before 1500 – a person or animal that keeps a lookout and warns of danger.^[5]
• before 1500 – a scout or spy (obsolete by 1739).^[5]
• before 1555 – an angel (obsolete by 1882).^[5]
• 1563 – one who watches over the spiritual affairs of others.^[5]
• 1600 – a person employed to guard property, especially at night.^[5]
• 1822 – the dor beetle, Geotrupes stercorarius.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person employed to guard a building or property, especially at night: The watchman locked the gates after the last lorry left.^[9][3][5]
2. Formerly, a man employed to patrol or guard the streets of a town at night.^[9][3][5]
3. One who keeps watch; a sentinel or lookout.^[3][5][6]
4. One who keeps guard at a place to warn people of danger.^[3][5]
5. One who watches over the spiritual welfare of others, as a prophet or member of the clergy.^[5]

Word family

• watchmanly
• night watchman

Related words

• watchdog
• wakeman
• watcher

Usage notes

Etymonline also records the spelling watch-man.^[4]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins