Protecter

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or thing that keeps another safe from harm, danger, or injury
2. Someone or something that shields a person, property, or interest from being damaged or threatened
3. One who defends, guards, or looks after another from possible hazards or attack

Etymology: "Protecter" is an older spelling of "protector," and the two share the same history. The word came into Middle English as "protectour," borrowed through Anglo-Norman from the Latin "protector," a noun built on "protegere," meaning to shield or cover in front. Latin speakers thus pictured the protector as someone standing in front of another, taking the blow first. English already had its own word for this role. Old English speakers used "sċildend," literally a "shielder," from "sċield," meaning shield. The Latin borrowing displaced it, so the native term disappeared from common use while the imported one took over. The spelling "protecter," with its -er ending, reflects the variation common before English spelling was standardized. It was once a normal form and is now simply obsolete.