One who is legally responsible for the care and management of the person or property of an incompetent or minor, The superior of a Franciscan convent, One who guards, preserves, or secures; one to whom any person or thing is committed for protection, security, or preservation from injury; a warden, adjective_ Hence, a protector or defender in general, in the belief of many pagan nations, a spirit, often of a deceased relative or friend, that presides over the interests of a household, a city, or a region