WARY

[wary] adj war.i.er ; -est [[1]ware, fr. ME war, ware, fr. OE waer careful, aware, wary; akin to OHG giwar aware, attentive, L vereri to fear, Gk horan to see] (15c): marked by keen caution, cunning, and watchful prudence esp. in detecting and escaping danger syn see cautious -- war.i.ly adv -- war.i.ness n