warrant
Part of speech: verb
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: The noun is derived from Middle English warant (“protector; guard, shield, protection”), from Anglo-Norman warrant, Old Northern French warant, warand, a variant of Old French guarant, garant, garand (“assurance, guarantee; authorization, permission; protector; protection, safety”) (modern French garant), from Frankish *warand, present participle of *warjan (“to fend off; to stop, thwart”). The word is cognate with Old High German werento (“guarantor”).
The verb is derived from Middle English warrant, waranten (“to give protection; to protect, shield; to assure, pledge, promise; to guarantee”), from Anglo-Norman warantir, warandir, warentir, and Old Northern French warandir, warantir, variant forms of Old French guarantir (“to protect”) (modern French garantir), a Romance formation from the noun guarant: see above.
Inflected forms:
form: warrants
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: warranting
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: warranted
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: warranted
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: To protect, keep safe (from danger).
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: [A]ll honeſt meanes for a man to warrant him-ſelfe from euills, are not onely tolerable, but commendable.
I'le warrant him for drowning, though the Ship were no ſtronger then a Nutt-ſhell, and as leaky as an vnſtanched wench.
A spell which will warrant its employer against all risk of being shot.
gloss: To give (someone) an assurance or guarantee (of something); also, with a double object: to guarantee (someone something).
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: Crato in a conſultation of his for a noble patient, tels him plainly, that if his Highneſſe will keepe but a good diet, hee will warrant him his former health.
The warranty that a ship shall sail on a given day must be strictly performed. Thus, if a ship, warranted to sail on or before a particular day, be prevented from sailing on that day by an embargo, the warranty is not complied with.
One or two bottles are warranted to cure all humor in the eyes. Two bottles are warranted to cure running of the ears, and blotches among the hair.
gloss: To guarantee (something) to be (of a specified quality, value, etc.).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Tuc[ca]. [...] Can thy Author doe it impudently enough? / Hiſt[rio]. O, I warrant you, Captaine: and ſpitefully inough too; he ha's one of the moſt ouerflowing villanous wits, in Rome. He will ſlander any man that breathes; If he diſguſt him. / Tucca. I'le know the poor, egregious, nitty Raſcall; and he haue ſuch commendable Qualities, I'le cheriſh him: [...]
The chief mate of the Pequod was Starbuck, a native of Nantucket, and a Quaker by descent. [...] His pure tight skin was an excellent fit; and closely wrapped up in it, and embalmed with inner health and strength, like a revivified Egyptian, this Starbuck seemed prepared to endure for long ages to come, and to endure always, as now; for be it Polar snow or torrid sun, like a patent chronometer, his interior vitality was warranted to do well in all climates.
Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; [...]
gloss: To guarantee as being true; (colloquial) to believe strongly.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: That tree is going to fall, I’ll warrant.
"I warrant you," said Chiffinch the female, nodding, but rather to her own figure reflected from a mirror, than to her politic husband, "I warrant you we will find means of occupying him that will sufficiently fill up his time."
gloss: To authorize; to give (someone) sanction or warrant (to do something).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I am warranted to search these premises fully.
[S]ince by our commission we are not warranted to treat but with the noblemen named by his majesty with the advice of the peers, and are particularly warranted to make exception against the earl of Traquair, for his malversation in the matter of the assembly and parliament, [...]
gloss: To justify; to give grounds for.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Circumstances arose that warranted the use of lethal force.
A strong pressure was brought by consumers to this end; but neither the combinations nor the independent interests have felt that the pressure was sufficiently strong in warranting them in making a cut.
The fact, however, that astonishment has been expressed at the clamor described, warrants a review of incidents which precipitated the events referred to.
The tunnel, like the other engineering works on the line, was built to take two tracks, but traffic has never warranted a second.
My train arrives on time - an eight-car Class 387. A handful of passengers alight, but not too many board - certainly not enough to warrant eight cars.
Derived words: warranted
Translations: