Pronunciation: /prəˈtɛkt(ə)rət/
noun
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1a state that is controlled and protected by another: Panama was juridically a protectorate of the United States [in names]: the British Somaliland Protectorate
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the relationship between a protectorate and the state that controls it: a French protectorate had been established over Tunis
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2 (usually Protectorate) historical the position or period of office of a Protector, especially that in England of Oliver and Richard Cromwell.