Where does “old guard” come from?

old guard (English) comes from English guard, from Middle English garde, from Old French guarde, from Old French guarder, from Frankish wardēn, from Proto-Germanic wardāną, from Proto-Germanic *warduz, from Proto-Indo-European wēr- — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.

old guard (English): A conservative, reactionary faction that is more...

Definitions

  1. A conservative, reactionary faction that is more...

Ancestry of “old guard”, step by step

old guard traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English guard

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

via English old

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglisholdOf an object, concept, relationship, etc., having...
2Middle Englishald—
3Old Englishealdold; ancient; original
4Old Englishfeldfield
5Proto-West Germanicfelþufield
6Proto-Germanicfelþuzfield, plain
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpelh₂-to approach
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpel-to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold

Words derived from “old guard”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European wēr- →Every word from Proto-Germanic *warduz →