Plural of watchman: men employed to guard property or keep watch over an area, often during night hours.
From 'watch' (to guard, from Old English 'waccan') + 'men.' Medieval cities employed night watchmen to patrol streets and call out the hours, a crucial role before electric lighting.
Medieval watchmen called out 'All's well!' every hour through the night, which is why we use 'watch' for guarding—they literally called out what they watched. The night watch was a dangerous job attracting troublemakers, which Shakespeare satirized in Much Ado About Nothing.
Generic masculine form that historically excluded women from security and guard roles through language encoding assumptions about who performs surveillance and protection work.
Use 'guards', 'security personnel', or 'watchkeepers' for gender-neutral reference; 'watchwoman/watchwomen' if gender-specific is necessary.
["guards","security personnel","watchkeepers","sentries"]
Women have served as effective security, surveillance, and guard personnel throughout history, though masculine-form language erased this contribution.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.