proteggere

Proteggere is an Italian verb meaning to protect, safeguard, or defend from danger, loss, or harm. It can refer to physical protection, legal or moral protection, or the preservation of values, data, or the environment. It is used transitively with a direct object (proteggere qualcuno o qualcosa) and with da or contro to specify the threat (proteggere da una minaccia, proteggere contro i rischi). The reflexive form proteggersi means to protect oneself.

Etymology and related terms: proteggere comes from Latin proteggere, formed with pro- “forward” and tegere “to cover.” The spelling with double g serves to preserve the hard g before the vowel that follows. Related Italian forms include protezione (protection), protettivo (protective), and tutelare, while the English cognate is protect, sharing the same Latin origin.

Conjugation and forms: proteggere is a third-conjugation -ere verb. The present indicative forms include io proteggo, tu proteggi, lui/lei protegge, noi proteggiamo, voi proteggete, loro proteggono. Other common forms are the past participle protetto and the gerund proteggendo; the imperfect is proteggevo, and the future forms include proteggerò, proteggerai, proteggerà, protegg eremo, protegg erete, proteggeranno. The subjunctive and conditional moods have their own conjugations as with other Italian verbs.

Usage notes: common constructions include proteggere qualcuno da qualcosa, proteggere i dati, proteggere l’ambiente, proteggere la privacy, and proteggersi in reflexive usage. Examples: La legge protegge i diritti dei cittadini. Indossare il casco serve a proteggere la testa.

See also: protezione, tutelare.