Protector

How to spell protector

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce protector

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does protector mean?

1. nounA person or thing that keeps someone or something safe from harm or damage.
2. nounA person who governs a kingdom during the monarch's absence, minority, or incapacity.

Protector in a sentence

• The bodyguard acted as her personal protector during the trip.

• Oliver Cromwell ruled England with the title of lord protector.

• A plastic screen protector shields the phone from scratches.

• During the young king's childhood, his uncle served as protector of the realm.

Where does protector come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb protegere, which literally meant 'to cover in front of' and so 'to shield or defend', built from pro- meaning 'in front' and tegere meaning 'to cover'. From that verb Latin formed the agent noun protector, the one who covers or guards another. English took it up in the late Middle Ages by way of Old French protectour, originally for a guardian or defender of people or rights. The very same tegere root, meaning 'to cover', also sits inside words like 'detect' (to uncover) and the anatomical 'tegument' (a covering layer of skin), which is a useful reminder that the spelling hinges on that 'tect' core. The ending is the Latin agent suffix -or rather than -er, and that is exactly where careful writers can slip.

How the word is built

• pro- (in front, on behalf of)
• tect (from Latin tegere: to cover)
• -or (agent suffix: one who does)