Guard"i*an (?), a.
Performing, or appropriate to, the office of
a protector; as, a guardian care.
Feast of Guardian Angels (R. C. Ch.) a church festival instituted
by Pope Paul V., and celebrated on October 2d. -- Guardian angel.
(a) The particular spiritual being believed in some branches of the Christian church to have guardianship and protection of each human
being from birth. (b)
Hence, a protector or defender in general. O. W. Holmes. -- 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.
Guard"i*an (?), n. [OF. guardain, gardien, F.
gardien, LL. guardianus. See Guard, v. t., and cf.
Wasden.]
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. (Law) 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.
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. Guardian ad litem (&?;) (Law),
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.
Hear it pronounced