An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/warten

by Friedrich Kluge

warten, verb, ‘to wait, await, stay,’ from Middle High German warten, Old High German wartên, ‘to spy, lurk, expect.’ Compare Old Saxon wardôn,‘to be on one’s guard, look after,’ Anglo-Saxon weardian, ‘to guard, keep,’ English to ward, Old Icelandic varða, ‘to watch over, protect’ (also Gothic -wards, ‘keeper,’ in compounds). From Old Teutonic are borrowed Italian guardare and French garder, ‘to guard.’ Hence the primary meaning of the cognates is ‘to look after or take charge of some one,’ and so they are undoubtedly connected with the root of wahren.