protector

English

Alternative forms

• protectour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English protectour, from Anglo-Norman protectour, protector and its etymon Latin prōtēctor, from prōtegō (“shield, protect”). By surface analysis, protect +‎ -or. Displaced native Old English sċildend.

Pronunciation

• (Canada, US) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈtɛktɚ/

  • Audio (General American):

    (file)

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɹəˈtɛktə/
• Rhymes: -ɛktə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: pro‧tec‧tor

Noun

protector (plural protectors)

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^[1], 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.

   • 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.

   1. (multiplicity slang) 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?)
4. A state or other subject under international law, exercising a protectorate over another subject in international law.
5. (UK, historical) 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.

6. (Roman Catholicism) 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.

Synonyms

• (one who protects or guards): guard, sentry, (obsolete) advowrer

Derived terms

• athletic protector
• cardioprotector
• chemoprotector
• chest-protector beard
• cryoprotector
• earthquake protector
• edge protector
• geroprotector
• Hector protector
• hepatoprotector
• immunoprotector
• lord protector
• lyoprotector
• mattress protector
• nephroprotector
• neuroprotector
• osmoprotector
• personal protector
• photoprotector
• phytoprotector
• pillow protector
• pocket protector
• protectorian
• protectorless
• protectorly
• punt protector
• radioprotector
• renoprotector
• screen protector
• sheet protector
• shoe protector
• surge protector
• thermoprotector
• vasoprotector
• water protector

Related terms

• Lord Protector (also shortened to protector)
• protect
• protection
• protectoral
• protectorate
• protectorship
• protectory
• protectress
• protectrice

Translations

someone who protects or guards

• Arabic: حَامٍ m (ḥāmin)
• Armenian: պահապան (hy) (pahapan)
• Azerbaijani: qoruyucu, havadar (az), himayədar
• Bengali: রক্ষী (bn) (rokkhi), মহাফেজ (bn) (mohaphej)
• Bulgarian: защитник (bg) m (zaštitnik)
• Catalan: protector (ca) m
• Chamorro: a'adahi
• Czech: ochránce (cs) m
• Danish: beskytter c
• Dutch: beschermer (nl) m, beschermheer (nl) m, behoeder (nl) m
• Faroese: verndari m
• Finnish: suojelija (fi)
• French: protecteur (fr) m, gardien (fr) m
• Galician: protector m
• German: Beschützer (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: προστάτης m (prostátēs)

• Hindi: रक्षक (hi) m (rakṣak), अभिरक्षक m (abhirakṣak), अभिभावक (hi) m (abhibhāvak)
• Irish: cosantóir m
• Italian: protettore (it) m, protettrice (it) f
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: حافیز (ḧafîz), پاڕێزگار (parrêzgar)

  Northern Kurdish: parêzvan (ku) m or f

• Latin: patrōnus m, patrōna f, prōtēctor m, prōtēctrīx f, tūtor m, fautor m, praeses (la) m
• Old Church Slavonic: параклитъ m (paraklitŭ)
• Old English: sċildend m
• Portuguese: protetor (pt) m
• Romanian: protector (ro) m or n, protectoare f
• Russian: защи́тник (ru) m (zaščítnik), защи́тница (ru) f (zaščítnica)
• Sanskrit: नाथ (sa) m (nātha)
• Scottish Gaelic: tèarmannair m
• Sikkimese: མགོན (mgon)
• Southern Altai: коруучы (koruučï)
• Spanish: protector (es) m, protectora (es) f, valedor m
• Swedish: beskyddare (sv) c, protektor c
• Turkish: hami (tr), koruyucu (tr), mevla (tr), sahip (tr), veli (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: صاحب (sâhib)

• Ukrainian: захисник m (zaxysnyk), захисниця f (zaxysnycja)
• Urdu: محافظ (muhāfiz)
• Welsh: amddiffynnwr (cy)

a state exercising a protectorate

• German: Protektor (de) m
• Russian: проте́ктор (ru) (protéktor)

a mechanism which is designed to protect

• Bulgarian: предпазител (bg) m (predpazitel), протектор m (protektor)
• Catalan: protector (ca) m
• Finnish: suoja (fi), suojamekanismi
• French: protecteur (fr)
• Portuguese: protetor (pt) m
• Romanian: protector (ro) m or n, protectoare f
• Russian: предохрани́тель (ru) m (predoxranítelʹ), проте́ктор (ru) m (protɛ́ktor)
• Spanish: protector (es) m

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin prōtēctōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [pɾu.təkˈtu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pɾo.təkˈto]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [pɾu.təkˈto]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [pɾo.tekˈtoɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [pɾo.tekˈto]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

protector (feminine protectora, masculine plural protectors, feminine plural protectores)

1. protective (serving to protect)
   • 2020 January 25, “La Xina pugna per contenir el virus”, in La Vanguardia‎^[2], archived from the original on 27 August 2025:

     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.

Noun

protector m (plural protectors, feminine protectora, feminine plural protectores)

1. protector (someone who protects or guards)

Noun

protector m (plural protectors)

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

Related terms

• protecció
• protegir

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)

Dutch

Etymology

From Latin prōtēctor, from prōtegō (“to shield, protect”).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

protector m (plural protectoren, diminutive protectortje n)

1. a protector, guardian, regent etc.
2. (rare) title of certain orphanage governors

Synonyms

• behoeder m
• beschermer m
• beschermheer m
• protecteur m (close French cognate)

Derived terms

• lord-protector m
• protectorschap n

Related terms

• protectie
• protectoraat n

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *pér

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *pró

Proto-Indo-European *pro-

Proto-Italic *pro-

Latin pro-

Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg-

Proto-Indo-European *-eti

Proto-Indo-European *(s)tégeti

Proto-Italic *tegō

Latin tegō

Latin prōtegō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin prōtēctor

From prōtegō (“protect, defend”) + -tor (agent noun suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [proːˈteːk.tɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [proˈtɛk.tor]

Noun

prōtēctor m (genitive prōtēctōris); third declension

1. protector (all senses)
2. guardian; guard
3. (politics) a high-ranking honorary title in the Roman Dominate, originally a bodyguard of the emperor

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	prōtēctor	prōtēctōrēs
genitive	prōtēctōris	prōtēctōrum
dative	prōtēctōrī	prōtēctōribus
accusative	prōtēctōrem	prōtēctōrēs
ablative	prōtēctōre	prōtēctōribus
vocative	prōtēctor	prōtēctōrēs

Descendants

• Catalan: protector
• → Danish: protektor
• → Dutch: protector
• French: protecteur
• Galician: protector
• Italian: protettore
• Portuguese: protetor
• Romanian: protector
• → Russian: протектор (protektor)
• Spanish: protector
• → Swedish: protektor

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.

Portuguese

Noun

protector m (plural protectores, feminine protectora, feminine plural protectoras)

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 misspelling

Adjective

protector (feminine protectora, masculine plural protectores, feminine plural protectoras)

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 misspelling

Further reading

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

Romanian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *pér

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *pró

Proto-Indo-European *pro-

Proto-Italic *pro-

Latin pro-

Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg-

Proto-Indo-European *-eti

Proto-Indo-European *(s)tégeti

Proto-Italic *tegō

Latin tegō

Latin prōtegō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin prōtēctorlbor.

French protecteurbor.

Romanian protector

Learned borrowing from Latin prōtēctor, or borrowed from French protecteur.

Adjective

protector m or n (feminine singular protectoare, masculine plural protectori, feminine/neuter plural protectoare)

1. protective

Declension

Declension of protector

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	protector		protectoare	protectori	protectoare
	definite	protectorul		protectoarea	protectorii	protectoarele
genitive- dative	indefinite	protector		protectoare	protectori	protectoare
	definite	protectorului		protectoarei	protectorilor	protectoarelor

Noun

protector m (plural protectori)

1. protector

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	protector	protectorul	protectori	protectorii
genitive-dative	protector	protectorului	protectori	protectorilor
vocative	protectorule		protectorilor

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *pér

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *pró

Proto-Indo-European *pro-

Proto-Italic *pro-

Latin pro-

Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg-

Proto-Indo-European *-eti

Proto-Indo-European *(s)tégeti

Proto-Italic *tegō

Latin tegō

Latin prōtegō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin prōtēctorlbor.

Spanish protector

Learned borrowing from Latin prōtēctor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɾoteɡˈtoɾ/ [pɾo.t̪eɣ̞ˈt̪oɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: pro‧tec‧tor

Adjective

protector (feminine protectora or protectriz, masculine plural protectores, feminine plural protectoras or protectrices)

1. protective

   Synonym: protectivo

   una familia protectora ― a protective family

Derived terms

• ángel protector
• cinta adhesiva protectora
• Fortaleza Protectora Argentina

Noun

protector m (plural protectores, feminine protectora or protectriz, feminine plural protectoras or protectrices)

1. protector (someone who protects or guards)

   Synonyms: valedor, patrón

Noun

protector m (plural protectores)

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

Derived terms

• protector genital
• protector solar

Related terms

• protección
• protectorado
• protectoría
• protectorio
• proteger

Further reading

• “protector”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026