Where does “protect” come from?
Protect comes from Latin protectus, the past participle of protego, meaning to guard or shield, composed of the prefix pro- and a root from Proto-Indo-European bʰuH-.
protect (English): To keep safe; to defend; to guard; to prevent...
Definitions
- To keep safe; to defend; to guard; to prevent...
Ancestry of “protect”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | protection | protection |
| 2 | Italian | protezione | protection |
| 3 | Spanish | protección | protection |
| 4 | Late Latin | protectio | a covering over; protection; shelter |
| 5 | Latin | prōtēctus | covered |
| 6 | Latin | protegere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 7 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |