The word to protect presents a recurring use in our language since with it we refer to the action of protect a person, or something, from a danger or damage that is likely to happen. A mother who wants to protect her young children from falling into the pool in the house, will take care of having a net or fence to prevent them from accessing it by themselves. On the other hand, an individual who takes great care of his car will put a cover on it to protect it from the sun's rays or storms.
Then, the action of protecting, normally, is accompanied by another action that implies the placing something on that other that is preserved with the mission that does not suffer any damage.
It should be noted that the concept that concerns us is closely related to another, that of prevention, because precisely what is done is to take care, to watch over something, arranging those questions that are necessary and thus avoid future damage.
Now, the protection that is attributed to something or someone can be physical or symbolic, that is, for example, a regulation that protects the rights of animals in extinction so that they are not captured.
In the field of computing, the concept of protecting has become very popular and important, since computer users, when normally storing private and sensitive information on their machines, such as images, documents, among others, have them, as a method of preventing future theft or loss of information, special software, popularly known as antivirus or programs that prevent copying or editing of the same.
But we also give another equally extended use of the word, to express support, defense or favor towards a cause or entity that pursues certain ends or objectives, generally humanitarian. We are absolutely in favor of the work carried out by the Greenpeace association to protect green spaces.
Meanwhile, for the aforementioned senses of the term we usually use the synonyms of preserve and support. And the words that oppose this term are those of abandon and attack that precisely propose to leave someone or something to their fate and confront them with violence, respectively.
Image: Fotolia Romantic
