Sentinel

Origin

Middle French sentinelle, from Old Italian sentinella, from sentina vigilance, from sentire to perceive, from Latin Sentry is perhaps from obsolete sentry sanctuary, watchtower

• 1579

Definitions

• 1: Sentry that is a : guard, watch; especially : a soldier standing guard at a point of passage (as a gate)

Description

A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border control, i.e., enforces the security of the country's national borders. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (like in Germany or Ukraine) and rescue service duties.

In different countries, names of particular border guard services vary significantly. The service may be called "police", "guard", "troops" or "sentinel" and the name would refer to the nation's official term for the state border - whether it is "frontier" or "border".

See also

• Outpost