protector

Forms

protector m or n (feminine singular protectoare, masculine plural protectori, feminine/neuter plural protectoare)^[1] MDA2 records the rare feminine protectoară, the old feminine protectoră and old forms with -tic-.^[2]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowed from Latin prōtēctor, also through French protecteur, as DEX, MDA2, the DLR and Tiktin give it.^{[3][2][4][5][1]} The Latin noun is formed on prōtegō (“to protect, defend”) with the agent suffix -tor.^[6][1] The French word comes from the Latin one.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to about 1661.^[5] Dosoftei's lives of the saints (1682–1686) have a form in proti-, glossed in the margin as sprijinitorii “the supporters”.^[4][2][5]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th and early 19th centuries it meant a patron or protector of a person, a school or a state: Șincai calls an emperor protectoriu, and the papers of 1829 speak of “our mighty protector”.^[4] Negulici's dictionary of 1848 glosses it as “defender, supporter”.^[7] As an adjective it came to describe a condescending attitude, and of states one that holds a protectorat over a territory.^[3][8][9] The neuter noun for a protective device in telecommunications is recent.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1661 – the first record Tiktin cites.^[5]
• 1682–1686 – a form in proti- in Dosoftei's lives of the saints.^[4][2]
• 1829 – protector “patron” in the press.^[4]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That protects, defends or favours someone or something: îmbrăcăminte protectoare “protective clothing”.^[3][8]
2. (of attitudes or behaviour) condescending, patronising: un zâmbet protector.^[3][8]
3. (of a state) Exercising a protectorat over a country or territory.^[3][9]

Noun

1. (masculine and feminine) A person who protects, defends or favours someone; a patron.^[3][2]
2. (neuter) A device protecting telecommunication installations against overvoltage and overcurrent.^[3]

Related words

• proteja
• protecție
• protectorat

Usage notes

DEX allows the stress on either syllable in the first sense: protectór and protéctor.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 575
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 888
4. ^ a b c d e Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. protector
5. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. protector
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. protector
8. ^ a b c Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne
9. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. protector