Historically, a person who kept and exhibited a trained bear for public entertainment; someone responsible for the care or control of a bear.
Compound of 'bear' and 'ward' (one who watches or guards); from Old English and medieval traditions where bearwards were recognized occupations, particularly in entertainment and street performances.
Bearwards were real jobs in medieval and Renaissance Europe—traveling performers who kept trained bears for public shows—and the word preserves a whole lost profession that has since completely vanished, replaced by modern entertainment.
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