main guard
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English[edit]
Noun[edit]
main guard (plural main guards)
- (military) A body of troops comprising the chief guard units, especially a unit of cavalry on the wing of a camp towards the enemy, or a group of soldiers in a fortress responsible for dealing with disturbers of the peace. [from 17th c.]
- (fortification) The keep of a castle; a guardhouse or building in a fortress where such a body of troops is lodged. [from 17th c.]
- 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:
- [A]fter an obstinate engagement, in which divers wounds were given and received, every soul of them was taken, and conveyed to the main-guard, where the commanding officer […] set them all at liberty […] .