Etymograph

English

protection

Protection comes from Late Latin prōtectiō ‘a covering over’, and goes back to Latin prōtegō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōtegō1as prōtegere, perfect passive participle‘to protect’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōtēctus1‘covered’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprōtectiō1‘a covering over’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1879protection1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English protection
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1879, Richard Jefferies, London: Smith: “But then I had the flintlock by me for…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōtegōWiktionary, English protectionas prōtegere, perfect passive participle‘to protect’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōtēctusWiktionary, English protection‘covered’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprōtectiōWiktionary, English protection‘a covering over’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1879protectionWiktionary, English protection. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1879, Richard Jefferies, London: Smith: “But then I had the flintlock by me for…”

Formed from protect + -ion

Latin tegō ‘to cover’

Latin prōtegō ‘to cover the front, protect’

Latin prōtēctus ‘covered, protected’

English protect

Every English word from Latin prōtegō

Today it means

noun The process of keeping (something or someone) safe.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “protection”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin prōtegō / protection

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