Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “guardsman” come from?

Guardsman comes from English guard and English man, from Old English -es and Middle English mon, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European men- meaning "to think" or "mind."

guardsman (English): A person, especially a soldier, who is on guard;...

Definitions

  1. A person, especially a soldier, who is on guard;...

Ancestry of “guardsman”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishguardA person who, or thing that, protects or watches...
2Middle Englishgardeguardianship, safeguarding, covering, authority;...
3Old Frenchguardeprotection; act of protecting; guard; inflection...
4Old Frenchguarderto protect; to guard; to look at
5Frankishwardēnto protect; to guard, protect, watch over; to...
6Proto-Germanicwardānąto guard, protect, watch over
7Proto-Germanic*warduz—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanwēr-true
9Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →