Protecting someone or something from danger or harm, keeping watch over it carefully.
From Old French 'guarder,' related to Germanic root 'ward' meaning 'to protect' or 'to watch.' The word evolved from describing physical protection to include any kind of careful watching or defense.
The phrase 'to guard' shares the same ancient Germanic root as 'ward' and 'warden'—all these words show how important protection and watching over things have been to human societies since medieval times.
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