guard(1) (iou) and plectonemic (iou)

guard(1) (iou)

guard noun. [gɑ:d] LME.
[Old & mod. French garde from Proto-Romance from West Germanic, whence also WARD noun.]
Care; keeping, guardianship, custody. LME-E18.
b. A precaution. Formerly also, caution. Now rare. L16.
A keeper, a protector, a defender; a sentry; N. Amer. a prison warder. Freq. also with defining word, as coastguard. LME.
P. Bowles The main gate..was locked at night so that no guard was necessary. R. Ellison Armoured cars with alert guards went by. E. Ardizzone Sail it alone to the coastguard station and tell the guards to come and help us.
b. Astronomy. Either of two stars in Ursa Minor that are the next brightest in it after the polestar; either of the two stars in the Plough which form a line indicating the direction of the polestar. Chiefly as the Guards. L16.
c. An official in General charge of a train or (Hist.) a stagecoach. L18.
d. Either of two players in Basketball or American Football responsible for offensive play and defensive marking. L19.
e. = GARDA 2. M20.
A body of soldiers etc. appointed to protect a person or position or to act as a sentry or escort; a separately designated section of an army. LME.
Home guard, Swiss guards, Varangian Guard, etc.
b. (Guard.) In pl. The household troops of the British army, consisting of the Foot Guards, the Horse Guards, the Life Guards, and by extension some (orig. seven) regiments of the Dragoon Guards. (These, with the exception of the Foot Guards, are now merged in the Household Cavalry Regiment.) L17.
Grenadier Guards, etc. attrib.: Guards battalion, Guards officer, Guards tie, etc.
Something which protects or defends; a protection, a defence; esp. a device to prevent injury, damage, or an accident; spec. (a) the part of a sword-hilt that protects the user's hand; (b) a metal device protecting the trigger of a gun; (c) a reinforcing slip of paper inserted between the pages of a book for the attachment of additional leaves; (d) a piece of protective Sports equipment. LME.
fire-guard, leg-guard, mudguard, watch-guard, etc.
Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida There is between my will and all offences A guard of patience.
b. An ornamental binding or trimming on a garment. obsolete exc. Hist. E16.
A defensive posture or motion in fencing, boxing, etc.; the position in which a cricket bat is held to defend the wicket. M16.
C. S. Lewis After being knocked down sufficiently often I began to know a few guards and blows. H. Williamson Blows, which wove..through the almost static guard of his right arm. C. Francis Night is the time when your guard is down and your reactions slow.
Protection, defence. arch. L16.
Gibbon The rivals.., had withdrawn the greatest part of their forces from the guard of the General frontier.
The condition or fact of protecting or defending; watch, vigilance; sentry duty. Freq. in phrs. (see below). L16.
T. Hardy It was characteristic of Ethelberta's jealous motherly guard over her young sisters. E. Amadi The crunch crunch of the boots of the soldier on guard outside.
A guardroom or guardhouse. E17-L18.
Curling. A stone delivered so as to lie directly in front of another so that it protects it from an opponent's play. E19.
Phrases: give guard Cricket (of an umpire) indicate to a batsman the position of the bat with respect to the wicket. guard of honour a body of usu. uniformed people appointed to receive a person of distinction or perform a special ceremonial duty. hanging guard: see HANGING adjective. keep guard act as a sentry, keep watch. off guard, off one's guard unprepared against attack, surprise, etc. on guard, on one's guard prepared for attack, surprise, etc.; cautious. mount guard take up sentry duty. relieve guard take another's place on sentry duty. take guard Cricket (of a batsman) take up position before the wicket, esp. by requesting the umpire to give guard. stand guard = keep guard above. Yeoman of the Guard: see YEOMAN.
Comb.: guard band (a) a narrow frequency band left vacant in order to prevent interference between communication bands on either side of it; (b) an unrecorded strip separating neighbouring recording tracks on magnetic tape; guard-boat (a) a boat detailed to ensure that a good watch is kept by officers of a fleet in harbour; (b) an official harbour boat enforcing quarantine or customs regulations; guard-book: arranged for the reception of additional leaves, cuttings, etc.; guard cell Botany each of the pair of cells bordering a stoma, which becomes larger or smaller according to the turgor of the cells; guard-chain: for securing a watch, brooch, etc.; guard dog a watchdog; guard hair any of the hairs forming the coarse outer fur of an animal; guardhouse: accommodating a military guard or securing prisoners; guard-rail: preventing a fall, derailment, etc.; guard ring (a) a ring preventing another ring from slipping off a finger etc.; (b) Physics a plate placed round and close to a disc electrode so that the field of the latter is not made irregular by edge effects; guardroom: for accommodating a military guard or securing prisoners; guardsman a soldier belonging to a guard or the Guards.

plectonemic (iou)

plectonemic adjective. M20.
[from Greek plektos twisted + nema thread + -IC.]
Chiefly Biochemistry. Pertaining to or designating two or more similar helices coiled together side by side in such a way that they cannot be fully separated unless they are unwound. Opp. PARANEMIC.
plectonemically adverb M20.

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