noun
A person assigned to watch over someone or something, often in an official or supervisory capacity. Can be used for a chaperone, a monitor, or an inspector. The honorific お makes it polite.
会議にはお目付け役として社外の監査役が同席した。
An outside auditor attended the meeting as a watchdog.
彼女は若い二人のお目付け役としてパーティーに同行した。
She accompanied the young couple to the party as a chaperone.
Same meaning without the honorific お; less polite and more direct. お目付け役 is the polite version commonly used in formal contexts.
Means 'watchman' or 'surveillance role', focusing on monitoring and observation, often with a security nuance. お目付け役 implies a broader supervisory or chaperoning role.
Compound of honorific prefix お (o-) + 目付け (metsuke, 'observation' or 'watch') + 役 (yaku, 'role'). The term 目付け historically referred to inspectors or censors in the Edo period, and 役 indicates a designated duty.