Caretaker

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɛɹˌteɪ.kɚ/

Definitions

1. A person tasked with the duty of caring for individuals or things
2. An individual responsible for maintaining a building or watching over people in someone's absence
3. Someone who manages or supervises a place or people temporarily to ensure their needs are met

Etymology: "Caretaker" is a plain compound of "care" and "taker", and the parts are worth separating. "Care" comes from Old English "caru," meaning sorrow or anxiety, a sense it still carries in phrases like "care-worn." "Taker" is an agent noun built from "take," so a caretaker is, quite literally, one who takes up care, or takes on a burden of worry on someone else's behalf. The word's meaning has shifted from the anxious sense of care toward the supportive one. Someone who minds a property or a group of people in another's absence has, in a sense, accepted the worry so the owner does not have to. The same logic explains why the word can be used for an interim official, as in a government run by a caretaker until an election, where the role is explicitly temporary.

Synonyms: guardian, custodian