Meanings
nounprotohistory (countable and uncountable, plural protohistories)
plural protohistories
- countableuncountablearchaeologyThe period between prehistory and history, during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have already noted its existence in their own writings.
And at all times, now as in proto-history, the membrum virile is the symbol of creation, the ultimate basis and source of life.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page ii
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe study of humans prior to the invention of writing
Similar
protoanthropology
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
French protohistoire
- protohistoireTranslations
Greek πρωτοϊστορία
- πρωτοϊστορία (protoïstoría)Translations
Romanian protoistorie
- protoistorieTranslations
Spanish protohistoria
- protohistoriaTranslations
Cite this entry
APA
protohistory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protohistory
MLA
“protohistory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protohistory. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “protohistory,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protohistory.
Source: protohistory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.