protection

Pronunciation

• IPA: /prəˈtek.ʃᵊn/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English proteccioun,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French proteccion (“protection, shield”),^[2] and directly from Late Latin prōtēctiō (“a covering over”),^[2][4] a noun of action from prōtegere (“to protect, cover in front”),^[2][3] from prō (“before”) and tegere (“to cover”),^[2] from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“to cover”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Shelter, defence, keeping, guardianship: the mid-14th century,^[2] and about 1375 in the OED.^[5] A document guaranteeing protection or immunity to its bearer is in the OED from 1312.^[5]

Semantic evolution

“That which protects” is from the late 14th century.^[2][5] In medieval England it was also the support of a lord or patron, and to put someone out of protection was to take away the security of the kingdom's laws.^[2] From 1677 it was a euphemism for keeping a mistress.^[5] The economic sense, fostering a country's industries with duties on foreign goods, is from 1789.^[2] The underworld sense, freedom from harm in return for money paid to the threatener, is from 1860,^[2][5] and the protection of wild animals and places by law from 1880, at first of wild birds in Britain.^[2][5] A condom or other contraceptive is a modern sense.^[6]

Timeline

• 1312 – a letter of protection.^[5]
• mid-14th century – shelter, defence.^[2]
• late 14th century – that which protects.^[2]
• 1677 – keeping of a mistress.^[5]
• 1789 – protection of home industries.^[2]
• 1860 – money paid to racketeers.^[2][5]
• 1880 – legal protection of wildlife.^[2][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of protecting, or the state of being protected.
2. Someone or something that protects.
3. A document guaranteeing safe-conduct to travellers.
4. A system of tariffs protecting home producers from foreign competition.
5. Money extorted by racketeers in return for not causing harm.
6. A contraceptive device such as a condom.

Word family

• protectional
• protectionist
• overprotection
• nonprotection
• protectionism
• radioprotection
• self-protection
• copy protection

Related words

• protect
• protective
• protector
• protectorate
• thatch
• tegument

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster