warden

¹

[wawr-dn]

noun

1. a person charged with the care or custody of persons, animals, or things; keeper.

   Synonyms: superintendent, caretaker, custodian, guard, guardian, warder

2. the chief administrative officer in charge of a prison.

3. any of various public officials charged with superintendence, as over a port or wildlife.

4. air-raid warden.

5. firewarden.

6. (in Connecticut) the chief executive officer of a borough.

7. (formerly) the principal official in a region, town, etc.

8. British.

   1. (initial capital letter),  a traditional title of the president or governor of certain schools and colleges.

      Warden of Merton College.

   2. a member of a livery company of the City of London.

9. Canadian.,  the head of certain county or local councils.

10. a member of the governing body of a guild.

11. a churchwarden.

12. a gatekeeper.

Warden

²

[wawr-dn]

noun

British: Archaic.

1. any of several pears having a crisp, firm flesh, used in baking and cooking.

warden

¹

/ ˈwɔːdən /

noun

1. a person who has the charge or care of something, esp a building, or someone

2. any of various public officials, esp one responsible for the enforcement of certain regulations

3. a person employed to patrol a national park or safari park

4. the chief officer in charge of a prison

5. the principal or president of any of various universities or colleges

6. See churchwarden

warden

²

/ ˈwɔːdən /

noun

1. a variety of pear that has crisp firm flesh and is used for cooking

Other Word Forms

• wardenry noun
• wardenship noun
• subwarden noun
• subwardenship noun
• underwarden noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of warden¹

1175–1225; Middle English wardein < Old French (northeast dial.), equivalent to ward- (root of warder to guard; ward ) + -ein, variant of -ien, -enc < Germanic -ing -ing ³

Origin of warden²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English wardoun, wardon(e); of uncertain origin; perhaps from Anglo-French or Anglo-Latin wardō (inflectional stem wardōn-)

Word History and Origins

Origin of warden¹

C13: from Old Northern French wardein, from warder to guard, of Germanic origin; see _guard

Origin of warden²

C15: of obscure origin

Example Sentences

"The bikes we're dealing with here on the highway are the same riders that we're dealing with on the parkland within the city," said Dave Sultana, who is in charge of Cardiff Council's wardens.

From BBC

Council dog wardens have responsibility for investigating attacks, seizing suspected dangerous dogs and issuing penalty notices.

From BBC

My mom and siblings and I called and emailed each of the prison’s classification officers, coordinators and wardens.

From Salon

They were using a motor vehicle without third-party insurance, failure to stop a vehicle when ordered to do so by a constable or traffic warden, and fraudulent use of a registration document.

From BBC

"It's a very small number of people that give the rest of dog walkers a bad name," he said, adding that wardens do a difficult job and can not operate "24/7".

From BBC

Related Words

• administrator 
• caretaker 
• curator 
• superintendent