name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Government by a protector; especially, The Protectorate: government of England, Scotland, and Ireland between 1653 and 1659 under the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth Oliver Cromwell, later his son Richard Cromwell. UK, historical
2. 2
   a state or territory partly controlled by (but not a possession of) a stronger state but autonomous in internal affairs; protectorates are established by treaty wordnet
3. 3
   The office or position of the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. UK, historical
4. 4
   The authority assumed by a state over another state deemed inferior or dependent, whereby the former protects the latter from invasion and shares in the management of its affairs but the protected state retains its nominal sovereignty.

   "Egypt became a British protectorate in 1914."

5. 5
   An autonomous state under protectorate.

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6. 6
   The office or position of protector (sense 5).

Proper Noun

1. 1
   The British state from 1653 to 1659, under Oliver Cromwell and then Richard Cromwell. historical

   "Holonym: Interregnum"

Synonyms

All synonyms

;aedileshipallyarchbishopricarchduchyarchdukedom

Example

More examples

"Cyprus was a British protectorate."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From protector + -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, a system ruled by people of such office).

Etymology 2

Proprialization from protectorate.

Related phrases

Protectorate of Bohemia and MoraviaSomali Coast Protectorate

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.