watch and ward

American  

noun

1. a continuous watch or vigil, by or as by night and by day, especially for the purpose of guarding.

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Etymology

Origin of watch and ward

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

Mourned the Daily Mail: "The vision of an alert, unsleeping corps of first-class brains keeping watch and ward has taken another blow."

From Time Magazine Archive

Close beside the church, and elevated by a very gentle ascent, stands the pretty Vicarage, as if placed expressly to keep watch and ward over the safety and repose of its sacred neighbour.

From The Vicar of Wrexhill by Trollope, Mrs

Then did Finn ask who of all his companions would go to the highest point of the hill directly over them, to keep watch and ward, and to report how the chase went on.

From Old Celtic Romances by Unknown

They saw desolation on the plain below, and tall chimneys kept watch and ward over a field of smouldering embers.

From The Story of the Great Fire in St. John, N.B., June 20th, 1877 by Stewart, George

On the pinnacle was their nest and young, and that was why the female had kept watch and ward over her eyrie, and also why she had not abandoned it even when I approached.

From Alone with the Hairy Ainu or, 3,800 miles on a pack saddle in Yezo and a cruise to the Kurile Islands. by Landor, A. H. Savage