saugoti

Saugoti is a Lithuanian verb meaning to protect, guard, or keep safe, and to preserve something from harm. The term is used for protecting people, objects, information, or the environment, as well as for maintaining or preserving conditions. It appears in everyday speech as well as in legal, technical, and safety-related contexts.

The verb is transitive and typically governs a direct object, as in saugoti dokumentus (to protect documents), saugoti duomenis (to protect data), or saugoti žmogų nuo pavojaus (to guard a person from danger). It is generally imperfective, with a common perfective counterpart formed with the prefix aps- to indicate completing the action, as in apsaugoti someone or something from harm. This distinction is similar to other Baltic languages, where a related verb with a prefix often marks a completed protective act.

Common related forms include the adjective saugus (safe), the noun saugumas (safety or security), and the person performing protection, saugotojas (guardian) or saugotoja (female guardian). The verb is frequently used in phrases about personal safety, data or information security, environmental protection, and cultural or historical preservation. In modern Lithuanian, discussions of data protection and privacy commonly appear as duomenų apsauga, while “saugos” and “sauga” appear in safety and security contexts.

In summary, saugoti denotes the act of guarding or keeping something safe, with broad application from everyday precautions to formal protection of people, property, and information.