| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| proto- or (sometimes before a vowel) prot- | |
| —combining form | |
| 1. | indicating the first in time, order, or rank: protomartyr |
| 2. | primitive, ancestral, or original: prototype |
| 3. | indicating the reconstructed earliest stage of a language: Proto-Germanic |
| 4. | indicating the first in a series of chemical compounds: protoxide |
| 5. | indicating the parent of a chemical compound or an element: protactinium |
| [from Greek prōtos first, from pro before; see | |
| prot- or (sometimes before a vowel) prot- | |
| —combining form | |
| [from Greek prōtos first, from pro before; see | |
prot- pref.
Variant of proto-.