protectorate Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a state or territory partly controlled by (but not a possession of) a stronger state but autonomous in internal affairs; protectorates are established by treaty
    associated state.

WordNet

Pro*tect"or*ate noun
Etymology
Cf. F. protectorat.
Definitions
  1. Government by a protector; -- applied especially to the government of England by Oliver Cromwell.
  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.

Webster 1913