tutelary

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈtuːtɪlɛri/ UK /ˈtjuːtɪləri/ See IPA manual

adj noun

Meanings

1

adj
having the role of a guardian or protector

Each household kept a small altar to its tutelary spirit.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · having the role of a... guardian protective tutelar protecting watchful

Word family

Etymology

From Latin tutelarius ('of a guardian'), from tutela ('protection, guardianship'), from tutus ('safe'), past participle of tueri ('to watch over, protect').

tutelarius Latin tutela Latin tueri Latin

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Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# tutelary

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** ˈtuːtɪlɛri
**IPA (UK):** ˈtjuːtɪləri

## Meanings
1. having the role of a guardian or protector

## Examples
- Each household kept a small altar to its tutelary spirit.

## Synonyms
- guardian
- protective
- tutelar
- protecting
- watchful

## Related Forms
- tutelar
- tutelage
- tutor

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: tutelarius
- Root: tutela
- Root: tueri

## Etymology
From Latin tutelarius ('of a guardian'), from tutela ('protection, guardianship'), from tutus ('safe'), past participle of tueri ('to watch over, protect').

## AI Etymology
Tutelary is from Latin tutelarius ('of a guardian'), from tutela ('protection, guardianship'), from tutus ('safe'), past participle of tueri ('to watch over, protect'). Important recorded forms include tutelarius (Latin), tutela (Latin), and tueri (Latin). Morphologically, the ending or combining element adapts the older base to the present English part of speech while keeping the historical sense visible. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers having the role of a guardian or protector. The wider family includes related words such as tutelar, tutelage, and tutor.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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