ward, garrison, Spenser, F. Q. ii. 11. 15; the guard at the gate of a castle, id., iii. 11. 21; custody, prison, ‘To commit one to ward or prison, In custodiam tradere’, Baret, Alvearie; Bible, Gen. xl. 3; 2 Hen. VI, v. 1. 112; the guard in a prison, Acts xii. 10 (AV. and Wyclif).
ward, a guard made in fencing, a posture of defence. Temp. i. 2. 471; 1 Hen. IV, ii. 4. 215.
warden, a large coarse pear used for baking, Bacon, Essay 46; Wint. Tale, iv. 3. 48; by pop. etym. a keeping pear; ‘Poire de garde, a warden or winter-pear, a pair which may be kept very long’, Cotgrave; Beaumont and Fl., Cupid’s Revenge, ii. 3 (Dorialus); spelt wardon, Palsgrave. ME. wardon(e (Prompt. and Cath. Angl.). So named from Wardon (now Warden) in Beds. The arms of Wardon Abbey were argent, three warden-pears, or. See Dict. (s.v. Wardon).
warder, a staff or truncheon carried by one who presided at a tournament or combat. Richard II, i. 3. 118 (when the ‘warder’ was thrown down, the fight was stopped). ‘They fight; Robert and the Palatine cast their warders between them and part them’, Heywood, Four Prentises (stage-direction); vol. ii, p. 204.
ware, to spend money. Ascham, Toxophilus, p. 122; Heywood, 1 Edw. IV (Hobs), vol. i, p. 43. Very common in the north country; in Yorks. (N. Riding) they say, ‘He wares nowt, for he addles nowt’, see EDD. (sv. Ware, vb.1 9). ME. waryn in chaffare ‘mercor’, (Prompt. EETS. 539, see note, no. 2636). Icel. verja, to clothe, to invest money, to spend.
ware, to bid any one beware; ‘I’ll ware them to mel’ (i.e. I’ll teach them to beware of meddling), Heywood, Witches of Lancs. iv (Parnell); vol. iv, p. 234.
wareless, unexpected. Spenser, F. Q. v. 1. 22; unwary, heedless, id., v. 5. 17.
warison, gift, recompense. Morte Arthur, leaf 186, back, 35; bk. ix, ch. 22. ME. warisoun, requital (Chaucer, Rom. Rose, 1537); warysone (Prompt. EETS. 516). Norm. F. guarison (garison), ‘vivres, moyens de subsistance’ (Moisy, 500).
warke, work. Spenser, Shep. Kal., May, 145; F. Q. ii. 1. 32. A north-country pronunc., see EDD. (s.v. Work).
†warling (?), in the proverb, ‘Better be an old man’s darling, than a young man’s warling’, Barry, Ram. Alley, ii (Adriana); Heywood’s Proverbs (ed. Farmer, pp. 80, 130). [In Ray’s Proverbs (ed. Bohn, p. 45), ‘snarling’ is the word used instead of ‘warling’.]