warden
UK /ˈwɔːdən/ · US /ˈwɔɹdən/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms wardens wardening wardened
- noun (archaic or literary) A guard or watchman.
- noun A chief administrative officer of a prison.
- noun An official charged with supervisory duties or with the enforcement of specific laws or regulations; such as a game warden or air-raid warden.
- noun A governing official in various institutions “the warden of a college”
- verb To carry out the duties of a warden.
- noun A variety of pear.
- proper noun A surname originating as an occupation for a warden.
- proper noun A village and civil parish in south Northumberland, England (OS grid ref NY9166).
Etymology
From Middle English wardein, from Anglo-Norman wardein, from warder (“to guard”), variant of Old French guarder (“to guard”) (whence modern French garder, also English guard), from Proto-Germanic *wardāną; related to Old High German wartēn (“to watch”). Compare guardian, French gardien, from Old French guardian, guardein. Compare also ward and reward. Doublet of guardian.
From Middle English wardon, origin uncertain; perhaps from Anglo-Norman or Anglo-Latin wardo, -ōnis.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A keeper; a guardian; a watchman.
- noun An officer who keeps or guards; a keeper; as, the warden of a prison.
Etymology [OE. wardein, OF. wardein, gardein, gardain, F. gardien. See Guardian, and Ward guard.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “warden”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details