guardavidas

Spanish

Etymology

Verb-object compound, composed of guarda (“to guard (originally)”) +‎ vidas (“lives”). Calque of English lifeguard.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡwaɾdaˈbidas/ [ɡwaɾ.ð̞aˈβ̞i.ð̞as]
• Rhymes: -idas
• Syllabification: guar‧da‧vi‧das

Noun

guardavidas m or f by sense (plural guardavidas)

1. (Latin America) lifeguard

   Synonyms: socorrista, (Latin America) salvavidas

   • 2015 December, “Paysandú y Salto sin playas todo el verano”, in El Pais (Uruguay)‎^[1]:

     Jerarcas de la Intendencia indicaron a El País que ya se coordinó con Prefectura y se mantendrá una guardia de guardavidas en ambas playas.

     Hierarchs of the Intendancy indicated to El País that they have already coordinated with the Prefecture and a lifeguard will be maintained on both beaches.

Further reading

• “guardavidas”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28