"Night Watch" and "Day Watch" - these are popular films with the participation of famous actors, based on the works of Lukyanenko. Perhaps if it were not for these paintings, many of our contemporaries would not have known about the existence of a word in Russian, the meaning of which will be discussed in the article.
In the dictionaries
Watch is observation, intelligence. That is said in one of the explanatory dictionaries of the Russian language. In addition, this is the name of a special intelligence service. Ushakov gave this word the following definition: a detour made for the purpose of inspection. The author of another famous dictionary, Ozhegov, agrees with this point of view.
"Watch" is an obsolete word. The organizations mentioned above have long ceased to exist. However, in 2008 in Odessa, a public association called the Watch was formed. This organization carries out activities of a rather wide spectrum: it holds various public events, counteracts Russophobia, takes part in the patriotic education of the younger generation. But when it comes to the Odessa association, the word "patrol" is already a concept that has little in common with the original.
The works of science fiction writer
Watch is what? The universe that Sergey Lukyanenko created in his books . He is not the author of historical prose, and therefore his "watch" has nothing to do with organizations that existed several centuries ago.
Gang words
The verb "to dose" is found in the works of ancient authors. Synonyms for him: "observe", "control", in a certain context - "lead". In one of his works Aeschylus discusses the fate of kings. The rulers, in his opinion, should watch over the affairs of ordinary mortals, control their destinies.
And another related word - "sentinel." It is easy to guess that it was used when it came to a person who is observing. But not about the one who conducts surveillance on his own, personal initiative. And about the employee of the so-called patrol.
Among the archaisms, which are cognate to the word, the meaning of which we are considering, there is also such a noun as "watchman". What synonyms can I choose for it? "Guard", "sentry", "patrol". Words with the root "watch" modern writers rarely use. The authors resort to such nouns, verbs and adjectives if they seek to create the spirit of antiquity on the pages of their works.