Etymology

sentry

sen·try
S1E1N1T1R1Y4

Today it means: A guard, particularly on duty at the entrance to a military base. Full definition →

Old French senteret
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The story

  1. Old French · derived fromsenteret“a path”
  2. English todaysentry

From earlier sentrie, sentery, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of sentinel or sanctuary; or perhaps from Old French senteret (“a path”), diminutive of sentier, from Medieval Latin semitarius (“a path”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.