| protection |
| 1. n. The process of keeping (something or someone) safe. | |
| Raincoats give protection from rain. | |
| 2. n. The state of being safe. | |
| 3. n. A means of keeping or remaining safe. | |
| 4. n. A means, such as a condom, of preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease. | |
| 5. n. (insurance) Coverage. | |
| 6. n. Immunity from harm obtained by illegal payments, as bribery or extortion. | |
| 7. n. (economics) Restrictions on foreign competitors which limit their ability to compete with domestic producers of goods or services. | |
| 8. n. (computing) An instance of a security token associated with a resource (such as a file). | |
| or |
| 1. conj. Connects at least two alternative words, phrases, clauses, sentences, etc. each of which could make a passage true. In English, this is the "inclusive or." The "exclusive or" is formed by "either(...) | |
| In Ohio, anyone under the age of 18 who wants a tattoo or body piercing needs the consent of a parent or guardian. | |
| He might get cancer, or be hit by a bus, or God knows what. | |
| 2. conj. (logic) An operator denoting the disjunction of two propositions or truth values. There are two forms, the inclusive or and the exclusive or. | |
| 3. conj. Counts the elements before and after as two possibilities. | |
| 4. conj. Otherwise (a consequence of the condition that the previous is false). | |
| It's raining! Come inside or you'll catch a cold! | |
| 5. conj. Connects two equivalent names. | |
| The country Myanmar, or Burma | |
| 6. n. (logic, electronics) alternative form of OR | |
| 7. n. (tincture) The gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms. | |
| 8. adj. (tincture) Of gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms. | |
| 9. adv. (obsolete) Early (on). | |
| 10. adv. (obsolete) Earlier, previously. | |
| 11. prep. (now archaic, or dialect) Before; ere. | |
| patronage |
| 1. n. The act of providing approval and support; backing; championship. | |
| His vigorous patronage of the conservatives got him in trouble with progressives. | |
| 2. n. Customers collectively; clientele; business. | |
| The restaurant had an upper-class patronage. | |
| 3. n. A communication that indicates lack of respect by patronizing the recipient; condescension; disdain. | |
| 4. n. (politics) Granting favours or giving contracts or making appointments to office in return for political support. | |
| 5. n. Guardianship, as of a saint; tutelary care. | |
| 6. n. The right of nomination to political office. | |
| 7. n. (legal) The right of presentation to church or ecclesiastical benefice; advowson. | |
| 8. v. To support by being a patron of. | |
| 9. v. To be a regular customer or client of; to patronize | |
