Protecting someone or something from harm or danger, or making sure they're kept safe.
From Middle English 'safe' (from Old French 'sauf') combined with 'guard' (from Old French 'garde'). Both terms entered English during the Norman Conquest period and were eventually merged into one compound word meaning complete protection.
The rise of 'safeguarding' as a formal term is recent—child safeguarding policies only became standard in schools and institutions in the 1990s, reflecting how societies evolve to name and organize their moral commitments to protecting vulnerable people.
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