D defs.my
Entry 2 senses Webster, 1913

Protectorate

/prət-ĕk'-tẽr-ət/ · Pro·tect·or·ate · IPA /pɹəˈtɛktəɹɪt/
01 n. Government by a protector; -- applied especially to the government of England by Oliver Cromwell.
  1. 1.
    Government by a protector; -- applied especially to the government of England by Oliver Cromwell.
  2. 2.
    The authority assumed by a superior power over an inferior or a dependent one, whereby the former protects the latter from invasion and shares in the management of its affairs.