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Entry 3 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Guardian

/gär'-dē-ən/ · Guard·i·an · IPA /ˈɡɑɹ.di.ən/
01 n. One who guards, preserves, or secures; one to whom any person or thing is committed for protection, security, or preservation from injury; …
  1. 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. 2.
    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.(Law)
    “Of the several species of guardians, the first are guardians by nature. -- viz., the father and (in some cases) the mother of the child.” — Blackstone.
Phrases & compounds
Guardian ad litem — 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.
02 a. Performing, or appropriate to, the office of a protector; as, a guardian care.
  1. 1.
    Performing, or appropriate to, the office of a protector; as, a guardian care.
Phrases & compounds
Feast of Guardian Angels — a church festival instituted by Pope Paul V., and celebrated on October 2d.
Guardian angel — The particular spiritual being believed in some branches of the Christian church to have guardianship and protection of each human being from birth.
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.