English
lifeguard
Lifeguard comes from Dutch lijf ‘body’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *lībą.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lībą‘body’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*līb‘body’reconstructed
- Old Dutchc. 500–1150līf‘body’
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500lijf‘body’
- Dutchc. 1500–presentsame form‘body’
- Englishearliest quotation 1776lifeguard
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lībą‘body’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*līb‘body’reconstructed
- Old Dutchc. 500–1150līf‘body’
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500lijf‘body’
- Dutchc. 1500–presentsame form‘body’
- Englishearliest quotation 1776lifeguard
Earliest quotation: 1776, The London Magazine: “The people's love is the king's lifeguard.”
The story
From life + guard, calque of Dutch lijfgarde, where life has the sense of Dutch lijf (‘body’) (hence literally “bodyguard”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ‘to stick’
live, living, lib, eleventh, lipid, lipa, 15 more
through Proto-Germanic *lībaną ‘to remain’
leave, twelve, eleven, lave, 9 more
through Proto-West Germanic *līb ‘body’
Today it means
noun A lifesaver: a rescuer, usually an expert swimmer, employed to save swimmers in trouble or near drowning at a body of water.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *lībą / lifeguard