sentinel
[sen-tn-l]
- a person or thing that watches or stands as if watching.
- a soldier stationed as a guard to challenge all comers and prevent a surprise attack: to stand sentinel.
- Digital Technology. tag1(def 9a).
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- to watch over or guard as a sentinel.
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Origin of sentinel
1570–80; < Middle French sentinelle < Italian sentinella, derivative of Old Italian sentina vigilance (Latin sent(īre) to observe) + -īna -ine2)
Synonyms
See more synonyms for sentinel on Thesaurus.com1, 2. sentry, guard, watch, lookout.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sentinel
Contemporary Examples
A web promotion for X-Men: Days of Future Past indicated that the character had been killed by a Sentinel in 2011.
That might have been what happened to the Sentinel that landed in Iran.
They may be taking some action in the future, given the weaknesses that appear to have been exposed in the Sentinel.
When Johnston talks about the failure of the Sentinel in Iran, he sounds frustrated.
A sentinel is present 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, including holidays.
Historical Examples
Like a sentinel on that solitary plain it overwhelms me with a sense of mystery.
Ballads of a BohemianRobert W. Service
After that, we were allowed to come on deck singly, only, and then under a sentinel's charge.
Ned MyersJames Fenimore Cooper
Neither of the lads so much as glanced at the sentinel as they strolled past him.
The Cruise of the Dry DockT. S. Stribling
He did not care, now, if he were halted by a British picket or sentinel.
The Dare Boys of 1776Stephen Angus Cox
This would be difficult, for the reason that there was a sentinel on the deck.
The Dare Boys of 1776Stephen Angus Cox
sentinel
- a person, such as a sentry, assigned to keep guard
- computing a character used to indicate the beginning or end of a particular block of information
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- to guard as a sentinel
- to post as a sentinel
- to provide with a sentinel
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Word Origin
C16: from Old French sentinelle, from Old Italian sentinella, from sentina watchfulness, from sentire to notice, from Latin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for sentinel
n.
1570s, from Middle French sentinelle (16c.), from Italian sentinella "a sentinel." OED says "No convincing etymology of the It. word has been proposed," but perhaps (via a notion of "perceive, watch"), from sentire "to hear," from Latin sentire "feel, perceive by the senses" (see sense (n.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper