Awarden

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Formally bestowing something on someone, such as a prize, payment or right, after a decision has been reached
2. Giving a reward or settlement to a person by the verdict of a judge or other authority
3. Adjudging and granting something to a recipient, typically as an archaic or formal decision made by a ruling party

Etymology: "Awarden" is an older spelling of "award," the verb meaning to decide something after weighing it up, or to grant something formally. It appears in Middle English, when the word came into English from Anglo-Norman, the French spoken by the post-Conquest aristocracy in England. Its ancestor was the Old French "eswarder" or "esgarder," which meant to look at closely, observe, or consider. Behind that lies a Germanic verb "*wardōn," meaning to watch or keep watch. That same root gave English "ward," "warden," and "guard." "Guard" is a doublet of "ward": the Norman French form kept the Germanic "w" as "g," while English inherited "ward" directly. So "award" and "guard" are cousins that took different routes through French. The sense of "judging" grew naturally from "watching closely": a person who examines a case carefully is in a position to pronounce on it.