Guardian
Guardian , noun
[Old French guardain, gardien, French gardien, Late Latin guardianus. See Guard, transitive verb, and compare 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.
Collocations (2)
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.
Guardian (gard"i*an or gard"yan; 106) , adjective
Performing, or appropriate to, the office of a protector; as, a guardian care.
Collocations (3)
Feast of Guardian Angels (Roman Catholic Church) , 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.