rearguard en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈɹɪəɹˌɡɑɹd/
Etymology
From Middle English rier garde, from Anglo-Norman reregard, reregarde, rereguarde and Middle French rieregarde, from Old French rereguarde (attested in The Song of Roland, c. 1150), from rere (“after; behind”) + guarde (“guard”). By surface analysis, rear + guard. Piecewise doublet of retrogarde.
Meanings
- (attributive, often) The rearmost part of a force, especially a detachment of troops that protect the rear of a retreating force.
-
(attributive, often) The defence, collectively the defenders.
Mancini's side only showed enough ambition when it was too late and by then battle lines were drawn as James Collins and former City captain Richard Dunne fought a magnificent rearguard action at the heart of Villa's defence.
2011 January 22, Phil McNulty, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 09 Aug 2022:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| rear guard | alternative | lexicographic | |
| rear-guard | alternative | lexicographic | |
| rearguards | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Coordinates
backstop (rearmost part of a troop)
Deriveds
Translations (31)
mi pūmanawa (the rearmost part of a force) · bg защита (soccer: defence) · it retroguardia (the rearmost part of a force) · el οπισθοφυλακή (the rearmost part of a force) · he מְאַסֵּף (the rearmost part of a force) · grc ὀπισθοφύλακες (the rearmost part of a force) · de Nachhut (the rearmost part of a force) · no baktropp (the rearmost part of a force) · pt retaguarda (the rearmost part of a force) · lv arjergards (the rearmost part of a force) · es retaguardia (the rearmost part of a force) · ca rereguarda (the rearmost part of a force) · pl straż tylna (the rearmost part of a force) · bg ариергард (the rearmost part of a force) · nl achterhoede (the rearmost part of a force) · tr dümdar (the rearmost part of a force) · grc οὐραγία (the rearmost part of a force) · fr arrière-garde (the rearmost part of a force) · ru арьерга́рд (the rearmost part of a force) · ta பின்னணி (the rearmost part of a force) · tr saka (the rearmost part of a force) · mi hiku (the rearmost part of a force) · mi whakatautopenga (the rearmost part of a force) · fi jälkijoukko (the rearmost part of a force) · es rezaga (the rearmost part of a force) · mk заштитница (the rearmost part of a force) · pl ariergarda (the rearmost part of a force) · tr artçı (the rearmost part of a force) · pt zaga (soccer: defence) · vi đạo quân hậu tập (the rearmost part of a force) · fi puolustus (soccer: defence)