warden

See also: Warden

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔːdən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔɹdən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)dən

Etymology 1

From Middle English wardein, from Anglo-Norman wardein, from warder (“to guard”), variant of Old French guarder (“to guard”) (whence modern French garder, also English guard), from Proto-Germanic *ward-; related to Old High German wartēn (“to watch”). Compare guardian, French gardien, from Old French guardian, guardein. Compare also ward and reward. Doublet of guardian.

Noun

warden (plural wardens)

1. (archaic or literary) A guard or watchman.
   • 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter IV, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:

     He called to the wardens on the outside battlements.

     The original (UK) editions read warders rather than wardens.

2. A chief administrative officer of a prison.
   • 1934, Nathanael West, “Chapter 7”, in A Cool Million‎^[1]:

     The warden of the state prison, Ezekiel Purdy, was a kind man if stern. He invariably made all newcomers a little speech of welcome […]

3. An official charged with supervisory duties or with the enforcement of specific laws or regulations; such as a game warden or air-raid warden.
4. A governing official in various institutions

   the warden of a college

Derived terms

• air-raid warden
• air warden
• chapelwarden
• churchwarden
• dog warden
• firewarden
• game warden
• parking warden
• subwarden
• traffic warden
• wardeness
• Warden Hill
• wardenless
• wardenry
• wardenship
• warden system
• waywarden

 

Descendants

• → Welsh: warden, gwarden

Translations

a chief administrative officer of a prison

• Arabic: آمِر سِجْن m (ʔāmir sijn)
• Bulgarian: директор на затвор (direktor na zatvor)
• Burmese: ထောင်ပိုင် (my) (htaungpuing)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 典獄長／典狱长 (zh) (diǎnyùzhǎng), 看守人 (kānshǒurén)

• Danish: fængdelsdirektør c, fængselsinspektør c,
• Dutch: gevangenbewaarder (nl) m or f
• Finnish: vankilanjohtaja
• French: directeur de prison m
• German: Gefängnisdirektor (de) m, Gefängnisdirektorin (de) f
• Irish: bardach m
• Italian: direttore (it) m, direttrice (it) f
• Japanese: 刑務所長 (けいむしょちょう, keimusho-chō), 看守 (ja) (かんしゅ, kanshu) (warden)
• Macedonian: управник m (upravnik)
• Maori: wātene
• Norwegian: fengselsdirektør m
• Persian: زندانبان (fa) (zandânbân)
• Portuguese: diretor (de presídio) m
• Romanian: director de închisoare m
• Russian: нача́льник тюрьмы́ m (načálʹnik tjurʹmý)
• Spanish: alcaide (es) m, casillero m

an official charged with supervisory duties

• Azerbaijani: nəzarətçi
• Bulgarian: надзира́тел (bg) m (nadzirátel)
• Dutch: opzichter (nl) m
• German: Aufseher (de) m
• Hungarian: felügyelő (hu)
• Irish: maor m
• Italian: preside (it) m, guardiano (it) m, supervisore (it) m or f
• Japanese: 所長 (ja) (しょちょう, shochō)
• Macedonian: надзорник m (nadzornik)
• Maori: wātene
• Norman: gardgien m
• Portuguese: supervisor (pt) m
• Romanian: supraveghetor (ro) m, supraveghetoare (ro) f
• Russian: смотри́тель (ru) m (smotrítelʹ), надзира́тель (ru) m (nadzirátelʹ)
• Spanish: comandante (es) m, guardabosque (es) m, director (es) m, (fish) guardapesca, (game) guardacaza

Verb

warden (third-person singular simple present wardens, present participle wardening, simple past and past participle wardened)

1. To carry out the duties of a warden.

Etymology 2

From Middle English wardon, origin uncertain; perhaps from Anglo-Norman or Anglo-Latin wardo, -ōnis.

Noun

warden (plural wardens)

1. A variety of pear.
   • c. 1607–1611, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Cupid’s Revenge”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC, Act II, scene i:

     Faith I would have had him rosted like a warden in a brown Paper, and no more talk on’t:

   • c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:

     I must have saffron to colour the warden pies;

   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Gardens”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

     In September, come Grapes; Apples; Poppies of all colours; Peaches; Melo-Cotones; Nectarines; Cornelians; Wardens; Quinces.

   • 1903, E. Bartrum, The Book of Pears and Plums‎^[2], London: John Lane, page 30:

     Wardens, a name given to pears which never melt, are long keeping, and used for cooking only. The name comes from the Cistercian Abbey of Warden in Beds. Parkinson’s Warden is now Black Worcester. There are Spanish, White and Red Wardens.

See also

• Warden on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Warden in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• Andrew, Darwen, Wander, drawne, wander, warned

Middle English

Noun

warden (plural wardens)

1. Alternative spelling of wardein

References

• “wardein, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Welsh

Alternative forms

• gwarden

Etymology

Borrowed from English warden.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwardɛn/

Noun

warden m (plural wardeniaid or wardeiniaid)

1. warden

Derived terms

• warden traffig

Mutation

H-prothesis does not affect this word as the ⟨w⟩ here represents the semivowel /w/ rather than a vowel sound.