Oh, this is a dry, wooden, empty word.
It's hard to say, too (I'm an expert on this because Ward was my maiden name: it either sounds like wood or it goes on forever).
It means nothing interesting, anyway. It's usually an enclosure for dull things like sick people or councillors, and if it's not that then it's a way of stopping people doing what they want to do (as in a ward of court) or stopping people getting where they want to get (as in the wards in a lock. The wards are the things that stop the wrong key opening it).
In fact it's a word which brings a permanent rain cloud with it, so let's blow it far away and let a bit of sunshine in.
Ooh, that's MUCH better.
Word Not To Use Today: ward. This word comes from the Old English word weard, which means protector.
It's a boring, ugly relation to the word guard.
And it has connotations of medical wards and prison wardens etc. But if it's a relative of guard, it can't be ALL bad, can it?
ReplyDelete