pro·tec·tion

[pruh-tek-shuhn]
noun
1.
the act of protecting or the state of being protected; preservation from injury or harm.
2.
a thing, person, or group that protects: This vaccine is a protection against disease.
3.
patronage.
4.
Insurance. coverage ( def 1 ).
5.
Informal.
a.
money paid to racketeers for a guarantee against threatened violence.
b.
bribe money paid to the police, politicians, or other authorities for overlooking criminal activity.
6.
Economics, protectionism.
7.
a document that assures safety from harm, delay, or the like, for the person, persons, or property specified in it.
8.
Archaic. a document given by the U.S. customs authorities to a sailor traveling abroad certifying that the holder is a citizen of the U.S.
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English proteccio(u)n < Late Latin prōtēctiōn- (stem of prōtēctiō) a covering in front. See protect, -ion

Related forms
pro·tec·tion·al, adjective
non·pro·tec·tion, noun
o·ver·pro·tec·tion, noun

Synonyms
1. security, refuge, safety. 2. guard, defense, shield, bulwark. See cover. 3. aegis, sponsorship. 7. pass, permit.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To protection
00:10
Protection is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
protection (prəˈtɛkʃən) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  the act of protecting or the condition of being protected
2.  something that protects
3.  a.  the imposition of duties or quotas on imports, designed for the protection of domestic industries against overseas competition, expansion of domestic employment, etc
 b.  Compare free trade Also called: protectionism the system, policy, or theory of such restrictions
4.  a document that grants protection or immunity from arrest or harassment to a person, esp a traveller
5.  mountaineering security on a climb provided by running belays, etc
6.  informal
 a.  Also called: protection money money demanded by gangsters for freedom from molestation
 b.  freedom from molestation purchased in this way
 
pro'tectionism
 
—n
 
pro'tectionist
 
—n, —adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

protection
late 14c., from O.Fr. protection (12c.), from L. protectionem "a covering over," from protectus, pp. of protegere "protect, cover in front," from pro- "in front" + tegere "to cover" (see stegosaurus). The O.E. word for "protect" was beorgan. In gangster sense, "freedom
from molestation in exchange for money," it is attested from 1860. Ecological sense of "attempted preservation by laws" is from 1880 (originally of wild birds in Britain). Protectionist in the economics sense is first recorded 1844, from Fr. protectionniste (in political economy sense, protection is attested from 1789).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Spending on green technologies rose, but less care was taken over environmental
  protection.
Piers called on the knight for protection, but the knight's efforts were vain.
So now shipping companies are turning to guns-for-hire for protection.
She wanted payback for all the protection she'd provided.
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