Keeper

Keeper is a noun describing a person who has responsibility for the care, custody, or maintenance of someone or something. The term derives from the verb keep, with the agent suffix -er, and has appeared in English since the Middle Ages in a variety of roles.

Historically, keepers are guardians or custodians tasked with oversight of property, persons, or animals. Common examples include zookeepers who care for animals in a zoo, gamekeepers who manage game and habitat on estates, and lighthouse keepers who maintain coastal beacons. The terms gatekeeper or warden denote keepers responsible for access control, security, or safety.

In architectural and medieval contexts, a keeper may be the official in charge of a castle’s keep or a keeper of keys, a role associated with entrusted access and responsibility. In legal and commercial language, a keeper can describe someone who holds possession or custody of goods on another’s behalf, as in bailment arrangements.

In modern usage, keeper also appears in compound job titles or as a literary or fictional label for characters who protect or guard objects, places, or information. In digital contexts, the idea persists in references to password keepers or password managers—software that stores and protects credentials.

See also: caretaker, custodian, guardian, warden, steward, keeper of the keys.