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definitions

protectory

[ pruh-tek-tuh-ree ]
/ prəˈtɛk tə ri /
|

noun, plural pro·tec·to·ries.

an institution for the care of destitute or delinquent children.

Nearby words

  1. protective system,
  2. protective tariff,
  3. protectively,
  4. protector,
  5. protectorate,
  6. protectress,
  7. protege,
  8. protei,
  9. proteid,
  10. protein

Origin of protectory

First recorded in 1650–60; protect + -ory2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for protectory

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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
British Dictionary definitions for protectory

protectory

/ (prəˈtɛktərɪ) /

noun plural -ries

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