An archaic term for a look, glance, or regard; an alternative spelling of the Old French word for 'to look at' or 'guard.'
From Old French esguarder, meaning 'to look at' or 'to guard.' Related to modern English 'guard' and 'regard,' both derived from the same Old French root.
Middle English had tons of words for 'looking'—esguard, regard, gaze—each with slightly different connotations that poets and writers carefully distinguished, creating a richer emotional vocabulary that modern English has largely collapsed into just a few words.
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