protect
/pɹəˈtɛkt/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.92 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "to protect a child from danger"
- "This antivirus package will protect your computer from hackers."
- "Condoms are designed to protect against sexually-transmitted diseases."
- "But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea."
Etymology
Attested in English since 1530, from Latin prōtēctus (“covered, protected”), past participle of prōtegō, prōtegere (“to cover the front, protect”) from prō, prō- (“before, in front of”) + tegō, tegere (“to cover”), see tegument. Largely displaced native Middle English shelden, from Old English sċildan (“to protect,” literally “to shield”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Inflected Forms
protects (present, singular)
protecting (participle, present)
protected (participle, past)
protected (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
protected (first person, past)
protectest (archaic, present)
protected (past, second person)
protectedst (archaic, past)
protecteth (archaic, present)
protected (past, singular)