ward

noun

1. 1

   archaicA warden; a guard; a guardian or watchman.

   th'aſſieged Caſtles ward Their ſtedfaſt ſtonds did mightily maintaine

   no gate they found, them to withhold, Nor ward to wait at morne and euening late […].

   there is remuneration for the best ward of mine

   For want of other ward, He lifted up his hand, his front to guard.

noun

1. 1

   Protection, defence. The action of a watchman; monitoring, surveillance (usually in phrases keep ward etc.)

   Before the dore ſat ſelfe-conſuming Care, Day and night keeping wary watch and ward, For feare leaſt Force or Fraud ſhould vnaware Breake in[…]

2. 2

   Protection, defence. 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.

   I must attend his majesty's command, to whom I am now in ward.

   It is also inconvenient, in Ireland, that the wards and marriages of gentlemen's children should be in the disposal of any of those lords.

3. 3

   Protection, defence. 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.

4. 4

   Protection, defence. A guarding or defensive motion or position.

   Thou knowest my old ward; here I lay, and thus I bore my point.

5. 5

   historicalProtection, defence. Land tenure through military service.

6. 6

   A protected place, and by extension, a type of subdivision. 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[…].

   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.

7. 7

   A protected place, and by extension, a type of subdivision. A section or subdivision of a prison.

8. 8

   A protected place, and by extension, a type of subdivision. 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.

   The sayde Iohn Mansell chargyd the mayre, that euery Alderman in hys warde shulde vppon the morowe folowyng assemble hys wardemote, [etc.].

   […] within v wardes of the same Towne which byn conteyned in seuerall partes in the same Towne ther hath byn v Cunstables that is to say in euery ward oon for the conseruacion of the kynges Peace and other good Rule […]

   There is also The Wardmote Enquest, Chosen euery St. Thomas day, in euery ward a quest.

9. 9

   A protected place, and by extension, a type of subdivision. A division of a forest.

10. 10

    A protected place, and by extension, a type of subdivision. A subdivision of the LDS Church, smaller than and part of a stake, but larger than a branch.

11. 11

    A protected place, and by extension, a type of subdivision. A part of a hospital, with beds, where patients reside.

    Since sick people were apt to be present, he could not always depend on a lively young crowd in the same ward with him, and the entertainment was not always good.

    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.

12. 12

    A person under guardianship. A minor looked after by a guardian.

    After the trial, little Robert was declared a ward of the state.

    Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. Thus outraged, she showed herself to be a bold as well as a furious virago. Next day she found her way to their lodgings and tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head.

13. 13

    obsoleteA person under guardianship. An underage orphan.

14. 14

    An object used for guarding.

15. 15

    An object used for guarding. 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.

    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.

verb

1. 1

   To keep in safety, to watch over, to guard.

   Whoſe gates he found faſt ſhut, ne liuing wight To ward the ſame, nor anſwere commers call

2. 2

   To defend, to protect.

   Tell him it was a hand that warded him From a thousand dangers.

   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.

3. 3

   To fend off, to repel, to turn aside, as anything mischievous that approaches. (usually followed by off)

   Draw forth thy ſword, thou mightie man at armes, Intending but to raiſe my charmed ſkin: And Ioue himſelfe will ſtretch his hand from heauen, To ward the blow, and ſhield me ſafe from harme, […]

   Now wards a felling blow, now strikes again.

   The pointed javelin warded off his rage.

   It instructs the scholar in the various methods of warding off the force of objections.

4. 4

   To be vigilant; to keep guard.

   They for vs fight, they watch and dewly ward, And their bright Squadrons round about vs plant […]

   Having slapped into middle age, where thoughts of one’s general infallibility are tempered by the realisation that those creaky, achy complaints are signs of certain decrepitude, I have decided to ward against further gravitational decline by hauling my saggy, sorry self to the gym.

5. 5

   To act on the defensive with a weapon.

Forms

plural

wards

past tense

warded

past participle

warded

present participle

warding

third person singular

wards