ES'CORT, noun A guard; a body of armed men which attends an officer, or baggage; provisions or munitions conveyed by land from place to place, to protect them from an enemy, or in general, for security. [This word is rarely, and never properly used for naval protection or protectors; the latter we call a convoy. I have found it applied to naval protection, but it is unusual.] ESCORT', verb transitive To attend and guard on a journey by land; to attend and guard any thing conveyed by land. General Washington arrived at Boston, escorted by a detachment of dragoons. The guards escorted Lord Wellington to London.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI