What is a ward?

Question

From the victorian times?

Answer 1

A ward was typically an orphan taken in as a surrogate child by a person of means.

Dick Grayson (Robin) was Bruce Wayne (Batman)'s ward.

Answer 2

Definitions of ward:

-a person who is under the protection or in the custody of another
-a district into which a city or town is divided for the purpose of administration and elections
-a block forming a division of a hospital (or a suite of rooms) shared by patients who need a similar kind of care; "they put her in a 4-bed ward"
-English economist and conservationist (1914-1981)
-English writer of novels who was an active opponent of the women's suffrage movement (1851-1920)
-United States businessman who in 1872 established a successful mail-order business (1843-1913)
-cellblock: a division of a prison (usually consisting of several cells)
-guard: watch over or shield from danger or harm; protect; "guard my possessions while I'm away"




g-day!

Answer 3

As with many words there are multiple meanings:

ward –noun
1. a division or district of a city or town, as for administrative or political purposes.
2. one of the districts into which certain English and Scottish boroughs are divided.
3. a division, floor, or room of a hospital for a particular class or group of patients: a convalescent ward; a critical ward.
4. any of the separate divisions of a prison.
5. a political subdivision of a parish in Louisiana.
6. Mormon Church. one of the subdivisions of a stake, presided over by a bishop.
7. Fortification. an open space within or between the walls of a castle or fortified place: the castle's lower ward.
8. Law.
a. a person, esp. a minor, who has been legally placed under the care of a guardian or a court.
b. the state of being under the care or control of a legal guardian.
c. guardianship over a minor or some other person legally incapable of managing his or her own affairs.
9. the state of being under restraining guard or in custody.
10. a person who is under the protection or control of another.
11. a movement or posture of defense, as in fencing.
12. a curved ridge of metal inside a lock, forming an obstacle to the passage of a key that does not have a corresponding notch.
13. the notch or slot in the bit of a key into which such a ridge fits.
14. the act of keeping guard or protective watch: watch and ward.
15. Archaic. a company of guards or a garrison.
–verb (used with object)
16. to avert, repel, or turn aside (danger, harm, an attack, an assailant, etc.) (usually fol. by off): to ward off a blow; to ward off evil.
17. to place in a ward, as of a hospital or prison.
18. Archaic. to protect; guard.