ward

Etymology 1

From Middle English ward, from Old English weard (“keeper, watchman, guard, guardian, protector; lord, king; possessor”), from Proto-Germanic *warduz (“guard, keeper”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to heed, defend”). Cognate with German Wart.

noun

1. (archaic or obsolete) A warden; a guard; a guardian or watchman.

Etymology 2

From Middle English ward, warde, from Old English weard (“watching, ward, protection, guardianship; advance post; waiting for, lurking, ambuscade”), from Proto-West Germanic *wardu, from Proto-Germanic *wardō (“protection, attention, keeping”), an extension of the stem *wara- (“attentive”) (English wary, beware), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to cover”). Cognate with German Warte (“watchtower”), warten (“wait for”); English guard is a parallel form which came via Old French.

noun

1. Protection, defence.
   1. (obsolete) A guard or watchman; now replaced by warden.
   2. The action of a watchman; monitoring, surveillance (usually in phrases keep ward etc.)
   3. Guardianship, especially of a child or prisoner.
      So forth the presoners were brought before Arthure, and he commaunded hem into kepyng of the conestabyls warde, surely to be kepte as noble presoners. 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book V
   4. An enchantment or spell placed over a designated area or social unit, that prevents any tresspasser from entering; approaching; or even being able to locate said protected premises or demographic.
   5. (historical, Scots law) Land tenure through military service.
   6. (fencing) A guarding or defensive motion or position.
2. A protected place, and by extension, a type of subdivision.
   1. An area of a castle, corresponding to a circuit of the walls.
      Diocletian[…]must certainly have derived some consolation from the grandeur of Aspalaton, the great arcaded wall it turned to the Adriatic, its four separate wards, each town size, and its seventeen watch-towers[…]. 1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Canongate, published 2006, page 149
      With the castle so crowded, the outer ward had been given over to guests to raise their tents and pavilions, leaving only the smaller inner yards for training. 2000, George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords, Bantam, published 2011, page 78
   2. A section or subdivision of a prison.
   3. An administrative division of a borough, city or council.
      On our last visit to Tokyo, we went to Chiyoda ward and visited the Emperor's palace.
   4. (UK) A division of a forest.
   5. (Mormonism) A subdivision of the LDS Church, smaller than and part of a stake, but larger than a branch.
   6. A part of a hospital, with beds, where patients reside.
      Many hospitals have not taken simple steps to lessen the distress and confusion which dementia sufferers' often feel on being somewhere so unfamiliar – such as making signs large and easy to read, using colour schemes to help patients find their way around unfamiliar wards and not putting family mementoes such as photographs nearby. December 16, 2011, Denis Campbell, “Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients'”, in Guardian
3. A person under guardianship.
   1. A minor looked after by a guardian.
      After the trial, little Robert was declared a ward of the state.
   2. (obsolete) An underage orphan.
4. An object used for guarding.
   1. The ridges on the inside of a lock, or the incisions on a key.
      A man muſt thorowly ſound himſelfe, and dive into his heart, and there ſee by what wards or ſprings the motions ſtirre. , II.1
      1852–1854, Charles Tomlinson, Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts and Manufactures The lock is made […] more secure by attaching wards to the front, as well as to the back, plate of the lock, in which case the key must be furnished with corresponding notches.
      With the help of a wire, however, they forced round the key. Even without the lens you will perceive, by the scratches on this ward, where the pressure was applied. 1893, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Resident Patient, Norton, published 2005, page 628

Etymology 3

From Middle English warden, from Old English weardian (“to watch, guard, keep, protect, preserve; hold, possess, occupy, inhabit; rule, govern”), from Proto-West Germanic *wardēn, from Proto-Germanic *wardōną, *wardāną (“to guard”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to heed, defend”). Doublet of guard.

verb

1. (transitive) To keep in safety, to watch over, to guard.
2. (transitive) To defend, to protect.
   they went to ſeeke their owne death, and ruſhed amidſt the thickeſt of their enemies, with an intention, rather to ſtrike, than to ward themſelves. 1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, Essays, II.3
3. (transitive) To fend off, to repel, to turn aside, as anything mischievous that approaches (usually followed by off)
   Now wards a felling blow, now strikes again. 1609, Samuel Daniel, The Civile Wares
   The pointed javelin warded off his rage. 1717, Joseph Addison, Metamorphoses
4. (intransitive) To be vigilant; to keep guard.
5. (intransitive) To act on the defensive with a weapon.