Dictionary

guardess en · NOUN

Etymology

From guard + -ess.

Meanings

1. (dated, rare) A female guard.
   • The gala-dress of the guardesses was decent, and not uncomely. A narrow fillet of blue or white cotton bound the hair, and the bosom was concealed by a sleeveless waistcoat of various colours[…] 1864, Sir Richard Francis Burton, A Mission to Gelele, King of Dahome, volume 1, page 254:
   • One day Trojan was sitting on the sofa when Leigh came into the room dressed as Else Kochs, a German concentration camp guardess […] 2011, Sue Tilley, Leigh Bowery: The Life and Times of an Icon:

Forms