Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Protect in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels protect as verb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913verb
Protect

[L. protectus, p. p. of protegere, literally, to cover in front; pro before + tegere to cover. See Tegument.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordprotect
Part of speechverb
Historical etymology[L. protectus, p. p. of protegere, literally, to cover in front; pro before + tegere to cover. See Tegument.]
Selected historical definitionTo cover or shield from danger or injury; to defend; to guard; to preserve in safety; as, a father protects his children.
Signed record IDwebster1913-protect-verb-1097aeb81654
Source locatorCIDE.P, paragraph 16475; Gutenberg eBook 666
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 666Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "protect" is labeled verb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[L. protectus, p. p. of protegere, literally, to cover in front; pro before + tegere to cover. See Tegument.]" The selected historical definition says: "To cover or shield from danger or injury; to defend; to guard; to preserve in safety; as, a father protects his children."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released P records

Every card owns a different source record and historical sense.

noun

People

[OE. peple, people, OF. pueple, F. peuple, fr. L. populus. Cf. Populage, Public, Pueblo.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Part

[F. part, L. pars, gen. partis; cf. parere to bring forth, produce. Cf. Parent, Depart, Parcel, Partner, Party, Portion.]

Webster 1913 exact recordverb

Place

[Cf. F. placer. See Place, n.]

Webster 1913 exact recordverb

Please

[OE. plesen, OF. plaisir, fr. L. placere, akin to placare to reconcile. Cf. Complacent, Placable, Placid, Plea, Plead, Pleasure.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Power

[OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See Possible, Potent, and cf. Posse comitatus.]

Webster 1913 exact record

Browse released P records - browse all historical records.