protectory

[ pruh-tek-tuh-ree ]

noun,plural pro·tec·to·ries.
  1. an institution for the care of destitute or delinquent children.

Origin of protectory

1
First recorded in 1650–60; protect + -ory2

Words Nearby protectory

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use protectory in a sentence

  • He received his education in a protectory where the good brothers were much too busy to observe which hand he used.

    Seeing Things at Night | Heywood Broun
  • The “institutions designated by law” for the reception of truants are chiefly the protectory and the Juvenile Asylum.

    The Children of the Poor | Jacob A. Riis
  • While Hyman was in the grammar grades, a brag pupil, Pasquale was in the protectory, a branded incorrigible.

    From Place to Place | Irvin S. Cobb

British Dictionary definitions for protectory

protectory

/ (prəˈtɛktərɪ) /


nounplural -ries
  1. an institution for the care of homeless, delinquent, or destitute children

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012