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Origin and history of protective

protective(adj.)

"affording protection, sheltering, defensive," 1660s, from protect + -ive. As a noun from 1875. Related: Protectively; protectiveness. Protective custody is from 1936, translating German Schutzhaft, used cynically by the Nazis. The notion is "adopted or intended to afford protection."

also from 1660s

Entries linking to protective

protect(v.)

"cover or shield from danger, harm, damage, exposure, trespass, temptation, insult, etc.," early 15c., protecten, from Latin protectus, past participle of protegere "to protect, defend, cover over, cover in front" (source also of French protéger, Old French protecter, Spanish proteger). This is from pro "before" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before") + tegere "to cover" (from PIE root *(s)teg- "to cover").

Applied with a wide range, both literal and figurative. The sense in political economy, "guard or strengthen against foreign competition by means of tariffs, etc.," is by 1789. Related: Protected; protecting.

overprotective(adj.)

also over-protective, "that protects to an undue or unhealthy extent," 1930, from over- + protective. Related: Overprotectively; overprotectiveness.

-ive

word-forming element making adjectives from verbs, meaning "pertaining to, tending to; doing, serving to do," in some cases from Old French -if, but usually directly from Latin adjectival suffix -ivus (source also of Italian and Spanish -ivo). In some words borrowed from French at an early date it has been reduced to -y (as in hasty, tardy).

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    Trends of protective

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    William
    .)) + helma "helmet," from Proto-Germanic *helmaz "protective covering" (from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save...
    mitt
    Baseball sense of "protective glove for a pitcher, catcher, or fielder" is from 1902....
    housing
    and flanks of a horse," from Old French houce "mantle, horse-blanket" (Modern French housse), from Medieval Latin hultia "protective...
    coverture
    From late 14c. as "a protective device, a refuge."...
    nanny
    Nannyism in reference to actions or policies considered unduly protective is by 1959; also compare the verb....
    toadstone
    "stone or stone-like object, supposedly magical (with healing or protective power) and found in the heads of certain toads...
    armor
    The meaning "protective envelope of an animal" is from c. 1600....
    insight
    c. 1200, innsihht, "sight with the 'eyes' of the mind, mental vision, understanding from within," from in (prep.) + sight (n.). But the meaning often seems to be felt as "sight into" (something else), and so the sense shifted to "penetrating understanding into character or hidden
    zone
    late 14c., from Latin zona "geographical belt, celestial zone," from Greek zōnē "a belt, the girdle worn by women at the hips," from zōnnynai "to gird," from PIE root *yos- "to gird" (source also of Avestan yasta- "girt," Lithuanian juosiu, juosti "to gird," Old Church Slavonic p
    osmosis
    "the tendency of fluids to pass through porous partitions and mix with each other; the diffusion of fluids through membranes," 1867, Latinized from osmose (1854), a shortened form of endosmose "inward passage of a fluid through a porous septum" (1829), from endo- "inward," which

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