Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Guardian?

\Guard"i*an\, n. [OF. guardain, gardien, F. gardien, LL. guardianus. See {Guard}, v. t., and cf. {Wasden}.] 1. One who guards, preserves, or secures; one to whom any person or thing is committed for protection, security, or preservation from injury; a warden. 2. (Law) One who has, or is entitled to, the custody of the person or property of an infant, a minor without living parents, or a person incapable of managing his own affairs. Of the several species of guardians, the first are guardians by nature. -- viz., the father and (in some cases) the mother of the child. --Blockstone. {Guardian ad litem}(Law), a guardian appointed by a court of justice to conduct a particular suit. {Guardians of the poor}, the members of a board appointed or elected to care for the relief of the poor within a township, or district.
\Guard"i*an\, a. Performing, or appropriate to, the office of a protector; as, a guardian care. {Feast of Guardian Angels} (R. C. Ch.) a church festival instituted by Pope Paul V., and celebrated on October 2d. {Guardian angel}. (a) The particular spiritual being believed in some branches of the Christian church to have guardianship and protection of each human being from birth. (b) Hence, a protector or defender in general. --O. W. Holmes. {Guardian spirit}, in the belief of many pagan nations, a spirit, often of a deceased relative or friend, that presides over the interests of a household, a city, or a region.