Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Guardian \Guard"i*an\, n. [OF. guardain, gardien, F. gardien,
   LL. guardianus. See {Guard}, v. t., and cf. {Wasden}.]
   1. One who guards, preserves, or secures; one to whom any
      person or thing is committed for protection, security, or
      preservation from injury; a warden.

   2. (Law) One who has, or is entitled to, the custody of the
      person or property of an infant, a minor without living
      parents, or a person incapable of managing his own
      affairs.

            Of the several species of guardians, the first are
            guardians by nature. -- viz., the father and (in
            some cases) the mother of the child.  --Blockstone.

   {Guardian ad litem}(Law), a guardian appointed by a court of
      justice to conduct a particular suit.

   {Guardians of the poor}, the members of a board appointed or
      elected to care for the relief of the poor within a
      township, or district.