Emily Dickinson Lexicon

ESCORT, n. [Fr. escorte; It. scorta, a guard or guide, scorgere, to discern, lead, conduct. Sp. and Port. escolta, r changed into l. The Italian has scorto, seen, perceived, prudent, and as a noun, abridgment; and scortare, to abridge, shorten, conduct, escort. The sense of short, shorten, is connected with L. curtus, and the sense of prudent occurs in L. cordatus. But whether there is a connection between these words, let the reader judge.]

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 navel protection, but it is unusual.]