In history class, studying another war, one could often hear about how brave the guardsmen were. But who are they? What is a "guard"? If you still couldn't find answers to your questions, then this article is just what you need.
Origin of the word "guard"
The word "guard" is a borrowing from Italian. There it was written guardia and meant the privileged part of the troops. It is noteworthy that the word "guard" is simply a transliteration (transliteration, in simple terms, is the rewriting of a word with the replacement of letters of one script with symbols of another, the new word is an almost complete copy of the original in pronunciation) of the original Italian word. These elite army units first appeared in Italy (this happened in the 12th century). After they also appeared in France, Sweden, England, Prussia. In Russia, or rather in the Russian Empire, the first guard was created under Peter I in the 90s of the 17th century.
Initially, it was the personal guard of the sovereign or a major military leader. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, it numbered fourrifle, thirteen infantry and fourteen cavalry regiments, but in addition to them, the guards included other detachments. It is worth noting that the guard was not part of the army, representing a separate entity. In 1918, with the advent of the new government, the guard was abolished. However, during the Great Patriotic War, military units, associations of the armed forces that distinguished themselves in battles could be awarded the title of Guards. Later, the word "guard" had an additional meaning.
Meaning of the word "guard"
So, now that the origin of the word has become clear, we can move on to the most important thing - its meaning. Guards are the best troops.
A guardsman (a word derived directly from "guards") is a person who serves in the army. The second meaning is portable. The guard is the best part of any social group. It is because of this meaning that the phrase "working guard" arose.
