Meaning and Origin
What does the name Ward mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
Origin and Meaning of Ward
User Submitted Origins
English
56%
German
17%
Dutch
11%
Irish
6%
Geez
6%
Arabic
6%
User Submitted Meanings
- According to a user from New York, U.S., the name Ward means "Son of the bard".
- A user from the United Kingdom says the name Ward is of Geez origin and means "To keep safe".
International Interest
Also see international interest
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Ward
Senses
- The act of guarding; watch; guard; guardianship; specifically, a guarding during the day. See the Note under Watch (n.), 1."Still, when she slept, he kept both watch and ward." [Spenser.]
- One who, or that which, guards; garrison; defender; protector; means of guarding; defense; protection."For the best ward of mine honor." [Shak.]"The assieged castle's ward Their steadfast stands did mightily maintain." [Spenser.]"For want of other ward, He lifted up his hand, his front to guard." [Dryden.]
- The state of being under guard or guardianship; confinement under guard; the condition of a child under a guardian; custody."And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard." [Gen. xl. 3.]"I must attend his majesty's command, to whom I am now in ward." [Shak.]"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." [Spenser.]
- A guarding or defensive motion or position, as in fencing; guard."Thou knowest my old ward; here I lay, and thus I bore my point." [Shak.]
- One who, or that which, is guarded.
- A minor or person under the care of a guardian; as, a ward in chancery.
"You know our father's ward, the fair Monimia." [Otway.] - A division of a county.
(Eng. & Scot) - A division, district, or quarter of a town or city.
"Throughout the trembling city placed a guard, Dealing an equal share to every ward." [Dryden.] - A division of a forest.
(Eng) - A division of a hospital; as, a fever ward .
- A minor or person under the care of a guardian; as, a ward in chancery.
- A projecting ridge of metal in the interior of a lock, to prevent the use of any key which has not a corresponding notch for passing it.
- A notch or slit in a key corresponding to a ridge in the lock which it fits; a ward notch.
"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." [Tomlinson.]
- A projecting ridge of metal in the interior of a lock, to prevent the use of any key which has not a corresponding notch for passing it.
Etymology: AS. weard, fem., guard, weard, masc., keeper, guard; akin to OS. ward a watcher, warden, G. wart, OHG. wart, Icel. vörðr a warden, a watch, Goth. -wards in daúrawards a doorkeeper, and E. wary; cf. OF. warde guard, from the German. See Ware (a.) Wary, and cf. Guard Wraith
verb Ward
Senses
- To keep in safety; to watch; to guard; formerly, in a specific sense, to guard during the day time."Whose gates he found fast shut, no living wight To ward the same." [Spenser.]
- To defend; to protect."Tell him it was a hand that warded him From thousand dangers." [Shak.]
- To defend by walls, fortifications, etc.(Obs)
- 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." [Daniel.]"The pointed javelin warded off his rage." [Addison.]"It instructs the scholar in the various methods of warding off the force of objections." [I. Watts.]
Etymology: OE. wardien, AS. weardian to keep, protect; akin to OS. ward�n to watch, take care, OFries. wardia, OHG. wart�n, G. warten to wait, wait on, attend to, Icel. var�a to guarantee defend, Sw. vårda to guard, to watch; cf. OF. warder, of German origin. See Ward (n.), and cf. Award Guard Reward
verb Ward
Senses
- To be vigilant; to keep guard.
- To act on the defensive with a weapon."She redoubling her blows drove the stranger to no other shift than to ward and go back." [Sir P. Sidney.]
Other Dictionary Sources
- A division of a prison (usually consisting of several cells)
- Block forming a division of a hospital (or a suite of rooms) shared by patients who need a similar kind of care ("they put her in a 4-bed ward")
- A district into which a city or town is divided for the purpose of administration and elections
- A person who is under the protection or in the custody of another
- United States businessman who in 1872 established a successful mail-order business (1843-1913)
- English writer of novels who was an active opponent of the women's suffrage movement (1851-1920)
- English economist and conservationist (1914-1981)
- Watch over or shield from danger or harm; protect
Wiktionary
Germanic, cognate with ward, warden, guard etc.
- An English occupational surname for a guard or watchman.
Ward was also found in the following language(s): Dutch