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proteggere

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Pronunciation

  • /proˈtɛd.d͡ʒe.re/[1]

Forms

proteggere (first-person singular present protèggo, first-person singular past historic protèssi, past participle protètto, auxiliary avére)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin prōtegō (“to cover in front; to protect”), from prō- (“in front”) and tegō (“to cover”).[2][3][4][1] The Latin verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“to cover with a roof”), the source also of Ancient Greek τέγος (tégos, “roof”).[1] Its past participle prōtēctus and the Late Latin nouns prōtēctor and prōtēctiō gave Italian protetto, protettore and protezione.[2][3] The same Latin verb was borrowed as French protéger (1395) and Spanish proteger.[5][3]

Protettorato is English protectorate, used of Cromwell's rule in 1692 and as a term of international law in 1836, according to DELI.[2] Nocentini derives it within Italian from “protettore”.[2][3] Protezionismo and protezionista are French protectionnisme and protectionniste, both of 1845.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is the Florentine translation of Valerius Maximus, whose first version is from before 1338, in the senses “to shelter, preserve” and “to defend from danger”.[6] The dictionaries give later dates: Sabatini–Coletti the 14th century, Zingarelli before 1420, GRADIT 1529, and DELI only 1598, in John Florio, for “to defend”.[7][8][4][2]

Semantic evolution

The physical sense “to cover as a shelter” is dated by DELI to Anton Maria Salvini (before 1729), who wrote of the sky spread over the earth “guarding and protecting” it.[2][9] Foscolo's Dei sepolcri asks the palms and cypresses to “proteggete i miei padri” (protect my fathers).[5] The sense “to promote an activity”, as industry or the arts, is from 1804, and gave rise to the economic vocabulary of protection in the 19th century.[2]

In modern use the verb also means to favour someone unfairly, and in computing to protect a file or program against copying or change.[4][7] Che Dio ti protegga! is a formula of good wishes.[4][10]

Timeline

  • c. 1260 – Protettore in the Laude of Cortona.[2]
  • Before 1321 – Dante uses protezione.[2][3]
  • Before 1338 – The Florentine Valerius Maximus uses proteggere.[6]
  • 1395 – French protéger is recorded.[5]
  • 1598 – John Florio's dictionary records proteggere “to defend”.[2]
  • Before 1729 – Salvini uses it for covering as a shelter.[2]
  • 1804 – The sense “to promote an activity”.[2]
  • 1849 – Protezionista is recorded.[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To protect, to shelter, act as a cover against something: Questa giacca protegge bene dal vento.[4][11][8][1]
  2. To keep safe, preserve: Abbiamo coperto le piante per proteggerle dal gelo.[4][11]
  3. To defend from a danger or threat: Una scorta proteggeva il ministro.[4][11][7]
  4. (figurative) To safeguard rights, honour or interests: La legge deve proteggere i più deboli.[4][11][7]
  5. To help, support someone in need; to favour someone, often unfairly: È stato promosso perché il capo lo protegge.[4][11][10]
  6. To promote an activity: proteggere la musica antica.[4][8][10]
  7. (computing) To protect data or a program against change, copying or unauthorized access.[4][7][8]

Word family

  • protettivo
  • protetto
  • protettore
  • protezione
  • protettorato
  • protezionismo
  • protezionista
  • protezionistico

Usage notes

The reflexive proteggersi means “to protect oneself”, as from cold or sun.[8][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 731
  6. ^ a b Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  7. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier