Rearguard

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɹɪəɹˌɡɑɹd/

Definitions

1. soldiers stationed at the back of a military unit to protect it during withdrawal or to resist enemy pursuit
2. the trailing section of an armed force that defends against attacks from behind while the main body advances or retreats
3. A group of soldiers positioned at the back of a military formation to defend against enemy attacks during movement or retreat

Etymology: The "rear" in rearguard is not the rear of a car or a house but an older French word meaning "after" or "behind." English took the compound from French, where "rereguarde" was already in use by the time of The Song of Roland, the Old French epic composed around 1150. That is the earliest recorded form, and it shows the word was a military term from the start: a guard placed behind the main body of troops. The English spelling came in through Anglo-Norman and Middle French versions such as "rereguarde" and "rieregarde," which is why the word looks like an ordinary compound of "rear" and "guard" today. The "rear" part is "rere," which was a separate word meaning "after" or "behind," so the two halves do not reflect the modern English sense of the back of something. The "guard" half comes from "guarde," the same root behind English "guard" itself. Rearguard also has a close relative, "retrogarde," from which it is a piecewise doublet: the two words share the same general origin but took slightly different paths into English.

Synonyms: retreat, withdrawal

Antonyms: advance, frontline