tutelary

American  

[toot-l-er-ee, tyoot-] / ˈtut lˌɛr i, ˈtyut- /

Also tutelar

adjective

1. having the position of guardian or protector of a person, place, or thing.

   tutelary saint.

2. of or relating to a guardian or guardianship.

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noun

plural

tutelaries

1. a person who has tutelary powers, as a saint, deity, or guardian.

tutelary British  

/ ˈtjuːtɪlərɪ, ˈtjuːtɪlə /

adjective

1. invested with the role of guardian or protector

2. of or relating to a guardian or guardianship

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noun

1. a tutelary person, deity, or saint

Other Word Forms

• supertutelary adjective
• untutelar adjective
• untutelary adjective

Etymology

Origin of tutelary

1605–15; < Latin tūtēlārius guardian; tutelage, -ary

Explanation

The adjective tutelary describes something that is supervising or guarding something else, like the tutelary duties of a babysitter who makes sure the kids don't hurt themselves at the playground. To correctly pronounce tutelary, say "TOO-tuh-leh-ree." Tutelary comes from the Latin word tutus, meaning "watch over." You see this root in words like tutor and tutorial, which also involve watching over, though in a more specific sense that applies primarily to instructing. Tutelary's suffix -ary means "having to do with." So something that is tutelary has to do with keeping watch, like the tutelary presence of a parent supervising a child, or even a tutelary god in an ancient society.

Example Sentences

In an ideal world, our entertainment would not have to be tutelary, would not need to “set a good example.”

From Slate • Apr. 18, 2019

Having no children of his own, Guadagnino has fallen into a tutelary role toward the young people in his life.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 8, 2018

The production’s central figures include a young African mother, in perpetual flight and exile, and a Native American, who presides as sort of a tutelary spirit over her fraught travels.

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2014

I leave the last word to The Review Show's tutelary spirit, Tom Paulin.

From The Guardian • Mar. 15, 2013

So far had Queen Victoria advanced in the tutelary rank!

From Fifty-One Years of Victorian Life by Child-Villiers, Margaret Elizabeth Leigh