protezione

Forms

protezione f (plural protezioni)^[1] Old Italian spellings include proteccione, protectione, protetione and protezzione.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin prōtectiō (“protection, shelter”), a learned word.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} The Latin noun is formed on prōtēctus, the past participle of prōtegō (“to cover in front; protect”), with the suffix -tiō.^[4][8][9] The verb is a compound of prō- (“in front”) and tegō (“to cover”).^[1] Tommaseo cites the Latin noun from the Digest and Tertullian.^[10]

The verb proteggere is from the same Latin verb.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a Sienese statute of 1309–1310, where the word names the duty of one who defends those under his authority, or that authority itself.^[2] DELI and GRADIT date it before 1321, from Dante, whose Paradiso places Calahorra “under the protection of the great shield” of Castile.^[3][5][10]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian the word was used especially of God or a saint watching over people; the GDLI's first sense is this divine protection, with examples from translations of Gregory the Great to Savonarola.^[2][7] From the 17th century patrons gave their protezione to scholars and artists, as Cosimo III of Tuscany did.^[10][9]

DELI dates the sense “favour, partiality” before 1799.^[3] In the 20th century the word came to name the protection that organised crime forces on shopkeepers and businesses in return for money, and the money itself.^[5][11][9] Technical senses followed: the defences of a warship, the coating of a surface, and in computing the means that keep data from being changed or copied.^[5][6] The protezione civile is the state service for disasters and also the body that runs it.^[6][12]

Timeline

• 1309–1310 – A Sienese statute is the first record.^[2]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses protezion in the Paradiso.^[3][10]
• Before 1799 – Giovanni Bocalosi uses it for favouritism.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of protecting or of being protected; shelter, defence: Questa crema offre una buona protezione dal sole.^[5][11][13]
2. Something that protects, such as a cover, screen or guard: Prima di saldare, abbassa la protezione.^[13][9][12]
3. Help and care given to someone weak or in need; guardianship: Il ragazzo fu affidato alla protezione dello zio.^[5][11][13]
4. The safeguarding of something by law or by an organisation: la protezione dell'ambiente.^[11][13][12]
5. Support for the arts and sciences; patronage.^[5][9]
6. (derogatory) Favouritism, string-pulling: Ha fatto strada grazie a qualche protezione.^[5][11][6]
7. The protection that criminals impose on businesses in return for money; also the money paid.^[5][11][9]
8. (computing) A device or procedure that prevents data or programs from being changed, deleted or copied.^[5][6]

Word family

• protezionismo
• protezionista
• protezionistico

Related words

• proteggere
• protettore
• Latin protectio

Usage notes

Protezione civile is the civil protection service, organised by the state for natural disasters and other emergencies, and the body in charge of it.^[6][12]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
3. ^ a b c d e f Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
10. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
11. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b c d Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
13. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse