warder

Definition

A guard, especially in a prison.

Etymology

From Middle English warder, wardere, perhaps in part continuing Old English weardere (“one who holds a country; inhabitant”), from Proto-West Germanic *wardārī (“guard, follower, watchman, lookout”), equivalent to ward + -er. Cognate with Dutch waarder (“inspector”), German Low German Wärder (“guard, watchman”), German Wärter (“guard, keeper, attendant”).

Example Sentences

• "Kent. Mortimer, ’tis I. But hath thy portion wrought so happily? Younger Mortimer. It hath, my lord: the warders all asleep, I thank them, gave me leave to pass in peace."
• "Above the gloomy portal arch, / Timing his footsteps to a march, / The warder kept his guard, / Low humming, as he paced along, / Some ancient Border gathering song."
• "So the guards carried him to the jail, thinking to lay him by the heels there for the night; but, when the warders saw his beauty and loveliness, they could not find it in their hearts to imprison him: they made him sit with them without the walls; and, when food came to them, he ate with them what sufficed him."