Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Positioned so that the head is turned toward the viewer. Used of an animal depicted so that its body is viewed from the side.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Acting as a guard or guardian; protecting.
  • In heraldry See gardant.
  • noun A guard or guardian.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete A guardian.
  • adjective obsolete Acting as guardian.
  • adjective (Her.) Same as Gardant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective heraldry, of an animal Positioned with the body viewed from the side, but with the head turned toward the viewer
  • noun obsolete A guardian.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective looking forward

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Obsolete French, from Old French guardant, gardant, present participle of garder, to guard; see guard.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old French guardant, present participle of guarder.

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Examples

Comments

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  • also spelled gardant. In heraldry, of a beast: having the full face towards the spectator. Sometimes accompanied by additional description, e.g. passant guardant.

    February 5, 2007

  • "MENENIUS: Now, you companion, I'll say an errand for you; you shall know now that I am in estimation; you shall perceive that a jack guardant cannot office me from my son Coriolanus..."

    - William Shakespeare, 'The Tragedy of Coriolanus'.

    August 29, 2009