Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A woman who protects.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A woman who protects.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A female protector.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From protector +‎ -ess.

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Examples

  • Romans had degenerated to a nation of cowherds, than the popes, in accordance with their full conviction that the Church was the first-called protectress and patroness of art, devoted their attention to the preservation of the ancient objects of art.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 15: Tournely-Zwirner 1840-1916 1913

  • People were wonderfully polite in those days, and Locke himself wrote to his "protectress" a charming letter in which he told her that her "_Defence_ was the greatest honour my Essay could have procured me."

    Some Diversions of a Man of Letters Edmund Gosse 1888

  • This benefit was fully repaid; Justine was the most grateful little creature in the world: I do not mean that she made any professions, I never heard one pass her lips; but you could see by her eyes that she almost adored her protectress.

    Chapter 5 2010

  • This benefit was fully repaid; Justine was the most grateful little creature in the world: I do not mean that she made any professions, I never heard one pass her lips; but you could see by her eyes that she almost adored her protectress.

    Chapter 6 2010

  • The nickname "Kali" also has a great ring to it, and it means protectress and beautiful, depending on the language.

    Grisabella, Tallulah Grace or Kalika? 2009

  • In the Lesson Mary stands before us as our instructor and describes her office of protectress: I am the mother of fair love, of fear, of knowledge, and of holy hope ... ..

    A Little Rock'n'Roll with our Elevenses John 2008

  • Susie's bawdy-house was among the finest in New Orleans, standing in its own tree-shaded grounds, which suited me, for I intended to sneak in through the shrubbery and seek out my protectress with the least possible ado.

    Isabelle Estelle Bruno 2010

  • By publicizing her connections with influential political leaders and intellectuals and associating herself in her poems with the honorific image of Venice as sublime protectress, she placed herself, as honest courtesan and citizen poet, at center stage.

    Lapham's Quarterly: Call-Girls and Courtesans: Getting An Education in 2009 and 1570 2009

  • Maybe she felt her work of protectress had been completed at long last, and she could trust me to do the right thing from there on in.

    Chicken Soup for the Soul: True Love Jack Canfield 2009

  • Little Maria was really my light, my protectress; with her help, I behaved well during the 27 years of prison and tried to live honestly when I was again accepted among the members of society.

    Letter From St. Maria Goretti's Repentant Killer Esther 2009

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