proteger

Proteger is a Spanish verb meaning to protect, to defend someone or something from harm, danger, or loss. Its etymology traces to Latin protegere, from pro- “forward” and tegere “to cover,” and it has cognates in other Romance languages such as proteger in Portuguese and protéger in French.

The verb is transitive and typically requires a direct object, as in proteger a alguien o algo. It can also be used reflexively as protegerse to mean protecting oneself from something. Common domains include personal safety, data privacy (proteger datos), the environment (proteger el medio ambiente), and health (proteger la salud). Phrases such as proteger de, proteger contra, or protegerse de are frequently used to indicate the threat being countered.

Conjugation notes: proteger is an irregular -er verb with a yo form protejo in the present tense. Other present-tense forms are proteges, protege, protegemos, protegéis, protegen. The pretérito perfecto simple forms are protegí, protegiste, protegió, protegimos, protegisteis, protegieron; imperfect forms are protegía, protegías, protegía, protegíamos, protegíais, protegían. The gerund is protegiendo and the past participle protegido. The imperative forms include protege (tú), proteja (usted), protejamos (nosotros), proteged (vosotros), protejan (ustedes).

Examples illustrate its use: La vacuna protege a la población. El casco protege la cabeza. La empresa protege sus datos personales. Debes protegerte del sol con protección adecuada. Proteger es un término general que abarca medidas de seguridad física, digital, legal y social.