Alternative forms

• protectour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#PROTECTORCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#PROTECTOR protectour, from Anglo-NormanCategory:English terms derived from Anglo-Norman#PROTECTOR protectour, protector and its etymon LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#PROTECTOR prōtēctor, from prōtegō (“shield, protect”).^[1] By surface analysis, protect +‎ -orCategory:English terms suffixed with -or (agent noun)#PROTECTOR. Displaced native Old English sċildend.

Pronunciation

• (Canada, US) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈtɛktɚ/Category:English 3-syllable words#PROTECTORCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#PROTECTOR

  • Audio (General American):

    (file)

    Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#PROTECTOR

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

    Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#PROTECTOR
• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈtɛktə/Category:English 3-syllable words#PROTECTORCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#PROTECTOR
• Rhymes: -ɛktə(ɹ)Category:Rhymes:English/ɛktə(ɹ)#PROTECTORCategory:Rhymes:English/ɛktə(ɹ)/3 syllables#PROTECTOR
• Hyphenation: pro‧tec‧tor

Noun

protector (plural protectors)Category:English lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:English nouns#PROTECTORCategory:English countable nouns#PROTECTORCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

1. Someone who protects or guards, by assignment or on their own initiative.
   • 2005 January 3, Jon Huntsman Jr., quotee, “Highlights from Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s inauguration speech”, in Deseret News‎, archived from the original on 23 September 2018:

     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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PROTECTOR

   • 2018 October 31, Toby Fox, Deltarune, v1.10, Windows, scene: Seam's shop, level/area: Chapter 1:

     They [the Lightners] were like Gods to us. Our protectors. Our creators. Those who gave us purpose... Then, one day we were all locked away in this prison... And the Lightners never returned.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PROTECTOR

   1. (multiplicity slangCategory:English multiplicity slang#PROTECTOR) A headmate who primarily fronts, or otherwise protects the system, in situations where the system is at risk of psychological harm.
2. A device or mechanism which is designed to protect.
3. One who prevents interference. (Can we add an example for this sense?)Category:Requests for example sentences in English#PROTECTOR
4. A state or other subject under international law, exercising a protectorate over another subject in international law.
5. (UKCategory:British English#PROTECTOR, historicalCategory:English terms with historical senses#PROTECTOR) 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, [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.

     Category:English terms with quotations#PROTECTOR

6. (Roman CatholicismCategory:en:Roman Catholicism#PROTECTOR) 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.

References

Etymology

Borrowed from LatinCategory:Catalan terms borrowed from Latin#PROTECTORCategory:Catalan terms derived from Latin#PROTECTOR prōtēctōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [pɾu.təkˈto]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#PROTECTOR
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pɾo.təkˈto]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#PROTECTOR
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [pɾo.tekˈtoɾ]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#PROTECTOR

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

  Category:Catalan terms with audio pronunciation#PROTECTOR

Adjective

protector (feminine protectora, masculine plural protectors, feminine plural protectores)Category:Catalan lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Catalan adjectives#PROTECTORCategory:Catalan entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

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

     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.

     Category:Catalan terms with quotations#PROTECTOR

Noun

protector m (plural protectors, feminine protectora, feminine plural protectores)Category:Catalan lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Catalan nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Catalan countable nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Catalan entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Catalan masculine nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

1. protector (someone who protects or guards)

Noun

protector m (plural protectors)Category:Catalan lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Catalan nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Catalan countable nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Catalan entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Catalan masculine nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

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

Further reading

• “protector”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “protector”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “protector” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “protector”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Etymology

From LatinCategory:Dutch terms borrowed from Latin#PROTECTORCategory:Dutch terms derived from Latin#PROTECTOR prōtēctor, from prōtegō (“to shield, protect”).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:Dutch terms with audio pronunciation#PROTECTOR

Noun

protector m (plural protectoren, diminutive protectortje n)Category:Dutch lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Dutch nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Dutch nouns with plural in -en#PROTECTORCategory:Dutch nouns with lengthened vowel in the plural#PROTECTORCategory:Dutch nouns with red links in their headword lines#PROTECTORCategory:Dutch entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Dutch masculine nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

1. a protector, guardian, regent etc.
2. (rareCategory:Dutch terms with rare senses#PROTECTOR) title of certain orphanage governors

Etymology

From prōtegō (“protect, defend”) +‎ -tor (agent noun suffix)Category:Latin terms suffixed with -tor#PROTECTOR.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [proːˈteːk.tɔr]Category:Latin 3-syllable words#PROTECTORCategory:Latin terms with IPA pronunciation#PROTECTOR
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [proˈtɛk.tor]Category:Latin 3-syllable words#PROTECTORCategory:Latin terms with IPA pronunciation#PROTECTOR

Noun

prōtēctor m (genitive prōtēctōris)Category:Latin lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Latin nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Latin third declension nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Latin masculine nouns in the third declension#PROTECTORCategory:Latin entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Latin masculine nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR; third declension

1. protector (all senses)
2. guardian; guard
3. (politicsCategory:la:Politics#PROTECTOR) a high-ranking honorary title in the Roman Dominate, originally a bodyguard of the emperor

References

• “protector”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "protector", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, 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.

Noun

protector m (plural protectores, feminine protectora, feminine plural protectoras)Category:Portuguese lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Portuguese nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Portuguese countable nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Portuguese masculine nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1990 in Portugal) of protetor; still used where the agreement hasn’t come into effect and may occur as a sporadic misspellingCategory:Portuguese forms superseded in 1943#PROTECTORCategory:European Portuguese forms superseded by AO1990#PROTECTORCategory:Portuguese forms superseded by AO1990#PROTECTOR

Adjective

protector (feminine protectora, masculine plural protectores, feminine plural protectoras)Category:Portuguese lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Portuguese adjectives#PROTECTORCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1990 in Portugal) of protetor; still used where the agreement hasn’t come into effect and may occur as a sporadic misspellingCategory:Portuguese forms superseded in 1943#PROTECTORCategory:European Portuguese forms superseded by AO1990#PROTECTORCategory:Portuguese forms superseded by AO1990#PROTECTOR

Further reading

• “protector”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Etymology

Borrowed from LatinCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from Latin#PROTECTORCategory:Romanian terms derived from Latin#PROTECTOR prōtēctor or FrenchCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from French#PROTECTORCategory:Romanian terms derived from French#PROTECTOR protecteur.

Adjective

protector m or n (feminine singular protectoare, masculine plural protectori, feminine/neuter plural protectoare)Category:Romanian lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Romanian adjectives#PROTECTORCategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

1. protective

Noun

protector m (plural protectori)Category:Romanian lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Romanian nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Romanian countable nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Romanian masculine nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

1. protector

Etymology

Borrowed from LatinCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from Latin#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish terms derived from Latin#PROTECTOR prōtēctor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɾoteɡˈtoɾ/ [pɾo.t̪eɣ̞ˈt̪oɾ]Category:Spanish 3-syllable words#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#PROTECTOR

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

  Category:Spanish terms with audio pronunciation#PROTECTOR
• Rhymes: -oɾCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/oɾ#PROTECTORCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/oɾ/3 syllables#PROTECTOR
• Syllabification: pro‧tec‧tor

Adjective

protector (feminine protectora or protectriz, masculine plural protectores, feminine plural protectoras or protectrices)Category:Spanish lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish adjectives#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

1. protective

   Synonym: protectivo

   una familia protectora ― a protective familyCategory:Spanish terms with usage examples#PROTECTOR

Noun

protector m (plural protectores, feminine protectora or protectriz, feminine plural protectoras or protectrices)Category:Spanish lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish countable nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish masculine nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

1. protector (someone who protects or guards)

   Synonyms: valedor, patrón

Noun

protector m (plural protectores)Category:Spanish lemmas#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish countable nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#PROTECTORCategory:Spanish masculine nouns#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with entries#PROTECTORCategory:Pages with 7 entries#PROTECTOR

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

Further reading

• “protector”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025