Word.ws English Dictionary

wardship

wardship noun: the state of being a ward of someone.

Noun

wardship (usually uncountable, plural wardships)

  1. (usually) The state of being a ward of someone.
    • The majority said temporary wardship, which allowed the girl to receive a transfusion, was justified.2009 February 21, Tracey Tyler, “A many-ringed circus”, in Toronto Star
  2. (historical, usually) In English feudal law, the guardianship which the lord had of the land of his vassal while the latter was an infant or minor.
    • And they may sell the wardship of the lands, and the maritages of the heirs, if they are not married, but they cannot alienate any part of the inheritance or they may offend as regards a remaindership.1879, Rerum Britannicarum Medii Ævi Scriptores

Forms of wardship

pluralwardships

Origin of wardship

From ward + -ship. Cognate with Dutch waardschap, Central Franconian Wirtschaff, Hunsrik Wertschaft, German Wirtschaft.

Questions about wardship

What does wardship mean?
Wardship means the state of being a ward of someone.
What part of speech is wardship?
Wardship is a noun.
What is the plural of wardship?
The plural of wardship is wardships.

Words near wardship in the dictionary

  1. wardrove
  2. wards
  3. Wards Mistake
  4. wards off
  5. Wards River
  6. wardship
  7. wardships
  8. wardsmaid
  9. wardsmaids
  10. wardsman
  11. wardsmen

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: wardship (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “wardship.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wardship. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.