守衛
しゅえい · shuei · JLPT N1 · noun
watchman
🛡️🚪 守 = protect + 衛 = guard: a 守衛 protects and guards the door
守 means to protect and 衛 means to guard or defend. Together they name the person who guards a building's entrance, so the word doubles the same idea.
守 — roof 宀 + hand/measure 寸
Originally depicts a hand (寸) under a roof (宀), suggesting someone guarding or maintaining a household. The combination evokes the idea of holding or keeping watch over a place. From this concrete image of guarding a home, the meaning broadened to 'guard,' 'protect,' 'keep,' and 'observe (rules).'