Etymology

protective

pro·tec·tive
P3R1O1T1E1C3T1I1V4E1

Today it means: Serving or intended to protect. Full definition →

Medieval Latin prōtēctīvus
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The story

  1. Medieval Latin · borrowed fromprōtēctīvus
  2. English todayprotective

Borrowed from Medieval Latin prōtēctīvus. By surface analysis, protect + -ive.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.