\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.

\Guard"i*an\, a.
Performing, or appropriate to, the office of a protector; as,
a guardian care.

{Feast of Guardian Angels} (R. C. Ch.) a church festival
   instituted by Pope Paul V., and celebrated on October 2d.


{Guardian angel}.
(a) The particular spiritual being believed in some branches
    of the Christian church to have guardianship and
    protection of each human being from birth.
(b) Hence, a protector or defender in general. --O. W.
    Holmes.

{Guardian spirit}, in the belief of many pagan nations, a
   spirit, often of a deceased relative or friend, that
   presides over the interests of a household, a city, or a
   region.