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Webster 1913 Edition

Sentinel

Sen′ti-nel

,
Noun.
[F.
sentinelle
(cf. It.
sentinella
); probably originally, a litle path, the sentinel’s beat,, and a dim. of a word meaning, path; cf. F.
sente
path. L.
semita
; and OF.
sentine
,
sentele
,
senteret
, diminutive words. Cf.
Sentry
.]
1.
One who watches or guards; specifically
(Mil.)
, a soldier set to guard an army, camp, or other place, from surprise, to observe the approach of danger, and give notice of it; a sentry.
The
sentinels
who paced the ramparts.
Macaulay.
2.
Watch; guard.
[Obs.]
“That princes do keep due sentinel.”
Bacon.
3.
(Zool.)
A marine crab (
Podophthalmus vigil
) native of the Indian Ocean, remarkable for the great length of its eyestalks; – called also
sentinel crab
.

Sen′ti-nel

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Sentineled
or
Sentinelled
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Sentineling
or
Sentinelling
.]
1.
To watch over like a sentinel.
“To sentinel enchanted land.”
[R.]
Sir W. Scott.
2.
To furnish with a sentinel; to place under the guard of a sentinel or sentinels.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sentinel

SENT'INEL

,
Noun.
[from L. sentio, to perceive.] In military affairs, a soildier sent to watch or guard an army, camp or other place from surprise, to observe the approach of danger and give notice of it. In popular sense, the word is contracted into sentry.

Definition 2024

Sentinel

Sentinel

See also: sentinel

English

Proper noun

Sentinel

  1. A ghost town in California.
  2. A town in Oklahoma.

sentinel

sentinel

See also: Sentinel

English

Noun

sentinel ‎(plural sentinels)

  1. A sentry or guard.
    • 1719- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
      They promised faithfully to bear their confinement with patience, and were very thankful that they had such good usage as to have provisions and light left them; for Friday gave them candles (such as we made ourselves) for their comfort; and they did not know but that he stood sentinel over them at the entrance.
    • Macaulay
      the sentinels who paced the ramparts
  2. (computer science) a unique string of characters recognised by a computer program for processing in a special way; a keyword.
    The <xmp> tag is a sentinel that suspends web-page processing and displays the subsequent text literally.
  3. Watch; guard.
    • Francis Bacon
      that princes do keep due sentinel
  4. A sentinel crab.

Translations

Verb

sentinel ‎(third-person singular simple present sentinels, present participle (US) sentineling or (UK) sentinelling, simple past and past participle (US) sentineled or (UK) sentinelled)

  1. (transitive) To watch over as a guard.
    He sentineled the north wall.
  2. (transitive) To post as guard.
    He sentineled him on the north wall.
  3. (transitive) To post a guard for.
    He sentineled the north wall with just one man.

Translations

Etymology

1570s, from Middle French sentinelle, from Old Italian sentinella (perhaps via a notion of "perceive, watch", compare Italian sentire ‎(“to feel, hear, smell”)), from Latin sentiō ‎(“feel, perceive by the senses”). See sense.

Pronunciation

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