Warding

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The practice of defending against harmful forces or influences is known as protection
2. The act of guarding or shielding someone or something from potential harm or evil
3. A process or method used to keep away threats or negative influences

Etymology: Warding is simply "ward" plus the "-ing" ending that turns a verb into a participle and gerund, so the interesting story belongs to the root. Old English "weardian" meant "to watch, guard, keep, protect, preserve," and it sat alongside "weard," a word for a watchman or guardian that could also mean a lord or king. The sense of keeping watch over someone or something runs through both. The word has a strange twin. "Guard" is a parallel form of "ward" that came into English through Old French, so the two words are doublets: one arrived from the native Germanic line and the other was borrowed later from French, yet both descend from the same ancient root. English thus ended up with two forms of one idea, which is why "ward" and "guard" can often be swapped. Old English "weard" also meant "advance post" and "ambuscade," so guarding once included lying in wait. The modern sense of warding off harmful influences keeps that old idea of standing watch against a threat.

Synonyms: protecting, defending, guarding, safeguarding, shielding

Antonyms: attacking, assailing, threatening, endangering, vulnerating