protector

English

Alternative forms

• protectour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English protectour, from Anglo-Norman protectour, protector, from Latin prōtector, from prōtegō (“shield, protect”). Displaced native Old English sċildend.

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: prə-tĕk'tər, IPA^(key): /pɹəˈtɛktɚ/

  • audio (US)

    (file)

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈtɛktə/
• Rhymes: -ɛktə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: pro‧tec‧tor

Noun

protector (plural protectors, feminine protectress or protectrix)

1. Someone who protects or guards, by assignment or on their own initiative.
   • 2005 January 3, Jon Huntsman Jr., quoted in “Highlights from Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s inauguration speech”, Deseret News, 4 January 2005:

     I stand before you in the spirit of pure public service — not as a protector of the status quo, but as an agent of change.

2. A device or mechanism which is designed to protect.
3. One who prevents interference. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
4. A state or other subject under international law, exercising a protectorate over another subject in international law.
5. (UK, historical) One having the care of the kingdom during the king's minority; a regent.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii], page 122, column 2:

     My Lord Protector, ’tis his Highnes pleaſure, You do prepare to ride vnto S. Albons, / Where as the King and Queene do mean to Hawke.

6. (Roman Catholicism) A cardinal, from one of the more considerable Roman Catholic nations, who looks after the interests of his people at Rome; also, a cardinal who has the same relation to a college, religious order, etc.

Synonyms

• guard
• sentry

Related terms

• Lord Protector (also shortened to protector)
• protect
• protection
• protectoral
• protectorate
• protectorship
• protectory
• protectress
• protectrice

 

Translations

someone who protects or guards

• Arabic: حَامٍ‎ m (ḥāmin)
• Armenian: պահապան (hy) (pahapan)
• Azerbaijani: qoruyucu, havadar (az), himayədar
• Bengali: মহাফেজ (môhafez)
• Bulgarian: защитник (bg) m (zaštitnik)
• Catalan: protector (ca) m
• Chamorro: a'adahi
• Czech: ochránce (cs) m
• Danish: beskytter c
• Dutch: beschermer (nl) m, beschermheer (nl) m, behoeder (nl) m
• Faroese: verndari m
• Finnish: suojelija (fi)
• French: protecteur (fr) m, guardien m
• Galician: protector m
• German: Beschützer (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: προστάτης m (prostátēs)

• Irish: cosantóir m
• Italian: protettore (it) m, protettrice (it) f
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: حافیز‎ (ku) (ḧafîz), پاڕێزگار‎ (parrêzgar)

  Northern Kurdish: parastvan f, parastvan f

• Latin: patronus m, patrona f, protector m, protectrix f, tūtor m, fautor m, praeses (la) m
• Old English: sċildend m
• Portuguese: protetor (pt) m
• Romanian: protector (ro) m or n, protectoare f
• Russian: защи́тник (ru) m (zaščítnik), защи́тница (ru) f (zaščítnica)
• Sanskrit: नाथ (sa) m (nātha)
• Spanish: protector (es) m, protectora (es) f, valedor m
• Swedish: beskyddare (sv) c, protektor c
• Turkish: hami (tr), koruyucu (tr), mevla (tr), sahip (tr), veli (tr)
• Urdu: محافظ‎ (muhāfiz)

a mechanism which is designed to protect

• Bulgarian: предпазител (bg) m (predpazitel), протектор m (protektor)
• Catalan: protector (ca) m
• Finnish: suoja (fi), suojamekanismi
• French: protecteur (fr)
• Portuguese: protetor (pt) m

• Romanian: protector (ro) m or n, protectoare f
• Russian: предохрани́тель (ru) m (predoxranítelʹ), проте́ктор (ru) m (protɛ́ktor)
• Spanish: protector (es) m

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin prōtēctor.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /pɾo.təkˈto/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /pɾu.təkˈto/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /pɾo.tekˈtoɾ/

Adjective

protector (feminine protectora, masculine plural protectors, feminine plural protectores)

1. protective (serving to protect)
   • 2020 January 25, “La Xina pugna per contenir el virus”, in La Vanguardia‎^[1]:

     Ahir mateix els principals centres van demanar públicament donacions de tota mena de material protector, incloent-hi màscares sanitàries, ulleres protectores, guants o bates quirúrgiques.

     Yesterday the main centers publicly asked for donations of all kinds of protective material, including sanitary masks, protective goggles, gloves or surgical gowns.

Noun

protector m (plural protectors, feminine protectora)

1. protector (someone who protects or guards)

protector m (plural protectors)

1. protector (a device or mechanism which is designed to protect)

Related terms

• protecció
• protegir

Further reading

• “protector” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “protector”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2022
• “protector” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “protector” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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Dutch

Etymology

From Latin prōtector, from prōtegō (“to shield, protect”).

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

protector m (plural protectoren, diminutive protectortje n)

1. A protector, guardian, regent etc.
2. (rare) Title of certain orphanage governors

Synonyms

• behoeder m
• beschermer m
• beschermheer m
• protecteur m (close French cognate)

Derived terms

• lord-protector m
• protectorschap n

Related terms

• protectie
• protectoraat n

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Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /proːˈteːk.tor/, [proːˈt̪eːkt̪ɔr]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /proˈtek.tor/, [proˈt̪ɛkt̪or]

Noun

prōtēctor m (genitive prōtēctōris); third declension

1. protector (all senses)
2. guardian; guard

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	prōtēctor	prōtēctōrēs
Genitive	prōtēctōris	prōtēctōrum
Dative	prōtēctōrī	prōtēctōribus
Accusative	prōtēctōrem	prōtēctōrēs
Ablative	prōtēctōre	prōtēctōribus
Vocative	prōtēctor	prōtēctōrēs

Descendants

• Catalan: protector
• → Danish: protektor
• → Dutch: protector
• French: protecteur
• Galician: protector
• Italian: protettore
• Portuguese: protetor
• → Russian: протектор (protektor)
• Spanish: protector
• → Swedish: protektor

References

• “protector”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• protector in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• protector in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette

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Portuguese

Noun

protector m (plural protectores, feminine protectora, feminine plural protectoras)

1. Superseded spelling of protetor. (Superseded in Brazil by the 1943 spelling reform and by the Portuguese Language Orthographic Agreement of 1990 elsewhere. Still used in countries where the agreement hasn’t come into effect and as an alternative spelling in Portugal.)

Adjective

protector (feminine protectora, masculine plural protectores, feminine plural protectoras)

1. Superseded spelling of protetor. (Superseded in Brazil by the 1943 spelling reform and by the Portuguese Language Orthographic Agreement of 1990 elsewhere. Still used in countries where the agreement hasn’t come into effect and as an alternative spelling in Portugal.)

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Romanian

Etymology

From Latin protector or French protecteur.

Adjective

protector m or n (feminine singular protectoare, masculine plural protectori, feminine and neuter plural protectoare)

1. protective

Declension

Declension of protector

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	protector		protectoare	protectori	protectoare
	definite	protectorul		protectoarea	protectorii	protectoarele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	protector		protectoare	protectori	protectoare
	definite	protectorului		protectoarei	protectorilor	protectoarelor

Noun

protector m (plural protectori)

1. protector

Declension

Declension of protector

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) protector	protectorul	(niște) protectori	protectorii
genitive/dative	(unui) protector	protectorului	(unor) protectori	protectorilor
vocative	protectorule		protectorilor

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin prōtēctor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɾoteɡˈtoɾ/, [pɾo.t̪eɣ̞ˈt̪oɾ]

• Audio (Colombia)

  (file)

Adjective

protector (feminine protectora or protectriz, masculine plural protectores, feminine plural protectoras or protectrices)

1. protective

   una familia protectora ― a protective family

Derived terms

• ángel protector
• cinta adhesiva protectora

Noun

protector m (plural protectores, feminine protectora or protectriz, feminine plural protectoras or protectrices)

1. protector (someone who protects or guards)

Noun

protector m (plural protectores)

1. protector (a device or mechanism which is designed to protect)

Related terms

• protección
• protectorado
• protectoría
• protectorio
• proteger

 

Further reading

• “protector”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014