▪ I. protest, n.
(ˈprəʊtɛst, formerly prəʊˈtɛst)
[ME. = OF. protest (1479 in Hatz.-Darm.), mod.F. protêt (= med.L. prōtest-um, It., Sp., Pg. protesto), f. F. protester to protest. Cf. obs. F. proteste, It., Sp. protesta fem.]
An act of protesting.
1. A solemn declaration; an affirmation; an asseveration; an avowal; = protestation 1.
c 1400 Beryn 3905 And in protest opynly, here a-mong ȝewe all, Halff my good..I graunt it here to Geffrey. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 260 Sweare me..a good mouth-filling Oath: and leaue in sooth, And such protest of Pepper Ginger-bread, To Veluet-Guards, and Sunday-Citizens. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 17 They would cousen..their Neighbours with Protests of good Usage. 1876 Mozley Univ. Serm. i. 19 A statement or protest is, compared with the reality, a poor thing. |
2. The action taken to fix the liability for the payment of a dishonoured bill;
spec. a formal declaration in writing, usually by a notary-public, that a bill has been duly presented and payment or acceptance refused.
1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 399 The Notarie may..leaue afterwardes the copie of the Protest with some of the house, or throw the same within doores, and keepe a note of it against the next time. 1682 J. Scarlett Exchanges 71 If a Bill be presented for Acceptance, and the Acceptant refuse absolutely to accept it, then the Possessor of the Bill is obliged instantly without delay to make Protest for Non-Acceptance. 1698 Act 9 & 10 Will. III, c. 17 Which Protest..shall within Fourteen Days after making thereof, be sent, or otherwise due Notice shall be given thereof, to the Party from whom the said Bill or Bills were received. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 23, I gave the Protest to Capt. Clipperton in the South-Seas. 1882 Act 45 & 46 Vict. c. 61 §51 (4) When a bill has been duly noted, the protest may be subsequently extended as of the date of the noting. Ibid. (7) A protest must contain a copy of the bill, and be signed by the notary making it. |
3. A written declaration made by the master of a ship, attested by a justice of the peace or a consul, stating the circumstances under which injury has happened to the ship or cargo, or under which officers or crew have incurred any liability.
1755 N. Magens Insurances I. 87 The Insurers ask for the Protest; which is a Declaration upon Oath, usually made by the Master, and some of his People, before a Justice, Notary or Consul, at any Place where they first arrive. 1848 Wharton Law Lex., Protest,..a writing attested by a justice of the peace or consul, drawn by a master of a vessel, stating the severity of the voyage by which the ship has suffered, and showing that the damage was not occasioned by his misconduct or neglect. |
4. a. A formal statement or declaration of disapproval of or dissent from, or of consent under certain conditions only to, some action or proceeding; a remonstrance.
1751 Parl. Hist. I. 38 This Answer of the Barons to the King [in 1242]..being in the Nature of a Protest, is the First of that Kind we meet with in History; we shall, therefore, give it at length as follows. 1769 Robertson Chas. V, III. x. 221 Protests and counter-protests were taken. 1822 J. Haggard Rep. Consist. Crt. I. 5 The husband appeared under protest, and prayed to be dismissed on the ground [etc.]. 1846 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) II. 291 On the first day (18th May) of the meeting of the general assembly of 1843, the ministers and elders, members of that body, opposed to the right of patronage and in favour of the veto, gave in a Protest, stating..that ‘The courts of the church as now established, and members thereof, are liable to be coerced by the civil courts in the exercise of their spiritual functions’. 1885 Sir W. B. Brett in Law Rep. 14 Q. Bench Div. 876 The meaning of paying under protest necessarily is that the party paying the money does not pay it by way of rightful payment, but claims it still as his money in the hands of the person to whom it is paid. 1893 Times 30 Dec. 9/4 Meetings of protest began to be held all over Ireland. |
b. A written statement of dissent from any motion carried in the House of Lords, recorded and signed by any Peer of the minority. (The earlier term was
protestation 3 b.)
1712 (title) The Protest of the L[ord]s, upon A[ddressing] Her M[ajesty] for Her Sp[eech]: With the Names of the L[or]ds. 1721 Jrnls. Ho. Lords XXI. 695/2 Ordered, That on Thursday next, this House will take into Consideration the Nature of Protests, and the Manner of entering them. 1721 (title) Another Protest of their Lordships, on Sir George Byng's Attacking the Spanish Fleet. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. ii. 168 Each peer has also a right, by leave of the house, when a vote passes contrary to his sentiments, to enter his dissent on the journals of the house, with the reasons of such dissent; which is usually stiled his protest. 1854 Macaulay Biog. (1867) 16 Some of the most remarkable protests which appear in the journals of the peers were drawn up by him [Atterbury]. 1875 Rogers (title) A Complete Collection of the Protests of the Lords..1624–1874. Ibid. Pref. 13 It was not assumed or acted on before the Long Parliament, though the six Peers who make the first protest, with or without reasons, state that they ‘demanded their right of protestation’. Ibid. Pref. 15 The first protest with reasons entered in the Journals of the Irish House of Lords was in 1695,..the practice was plainly borrowed from English procedure. |
c. In Adlerian psychology, a personal, perhaps unconscious, dissent or attempted dissociation from one's self or circumstances;
esp. masculine protest (see
quots. 1917 and 1972).
1917 Glueck & Lind tr. Adler's Neurotic Constitution (1921) iii. 49 The dynamics of the neurosis can therefore be regarded (and is often so understood by the neurotic because of its irradiation upon his psyche) as if the patient wished to change from a woman to a man. This effect yields in its most highly colored form the picture of that which I have called the ‘masculine protest’. 1939 H. Orgler A. Adler v. 128 The second little theft was carried out as a protest against his being released on parole. 1972 H. Papanek in Freedman & Kaplan Interpreting Personality iii. 127 The term ‘masculine protest’ refers to the attitude of a boy or girl who is raised in a patriarchal culture, in which the real man is respected and admired and the feminine role connotes submissiveness and immaturity. |
d. The expressing of dissent from, or rejection of, the prevailing social, political, or cultural mores.
1953 S. A. Brown in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 40/2 We go then to what is called the New Negro Movement, then to..Social Protest. 1967 Listener 8 June 752/3 Mr Woodcock..traces the development of protest from the first tramps of Down and Out in Paris and London to the final achievement of Big Brother. 1968 Ibid. 4 July 22/3 Unlike many American authors of his generation, he has [not]..the rather breathy enthusiasm of those who have jumped alongside the youthful millions on the band⁓wagon..of Protest. 1975 A. Powell Hearing Secret Harmonies ii. 72, I was watching a programme..dealing with protest, counterculture, alternative societies. |
5. attrib. and
Comb. a. Demonstrating or representing a protest against a specific action or proceeding, as
protest banner,
protest button,
protest camp,
protest group,
protest meeting,
protest movement,
protest rally,
protest resolution,
protest strike; designating a literary or artistic medium which seeks to register or portray dissatisfaction with a given event, style, etc., as
protest art,
protest literature,
protest music,
protest poetry,
protest song; also
protest-singer,
protest-singing; (sense 4 c)
protest mechanism; also
protest-oriented adj. b. Special combs.:
protest march = march n.4 1 a; hence as
v. intr.; also
protest marcher;
protest vote, a vote placed with a minor faction and considered to represent a protest against the policies of a greater; so
protest voting.
1973 S. Henderson Understanding New Black Poetry 16 Not ‘protest’ art but essentially an art of liberating vision. 1976 Milton Keynes Express 18 June 3/3 Their threat to swamp the area with protest banners had been lifted at the last minute. |
1972 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 27 May 6/2 A large protest button, reading: ‘Memorial Day, 1969, 35,000 GI's dead in Vain. No More.’ |
1968 ‘O. Mills’ Sundry Fell Designs i. 9 This..must be her eleventh protest camp, not counting non-overnight demonstrations in Trafalgar Square but counting the Aldermaston marches. |
1895 Daily News 9 Sept. 5/5 Lord Dunraven did not, as many expected.., hoist the protest flag after the finish. |
1961 B. R. Wilson Sects & Society 1 The sect, as a protest group, has always developed its own distinctive ethic. 1973 Freedom 1 Sept. 4/1 The various ‘protest’ groups had lost interest in The Bomb. |
1960 Times Lit. Suppl. 5 Feb. 77/1 Mr. Klaus Roehler's stories..invite automatic comparison with other outcrops of post-war protest literature. 1975 Listener 16 Jan. 69/1 A..flood of protest literature which circulated through the underground channels of samizdat, or clandestine publishing. |
1959 ‘M. Derby’ Tigress iv. 151 What was he..doing in Ceylon? Leading a hydrogen bomb protest march? 1963 Economist 9 Nov. 550/2 The people were protest-marching. 1966 C. Achebe Man of People i. 4 Protest marches and demonstrations were staged up and down the land. 1967 Punch 8 Nov. 699/1, I see an army with banners, protest-marching up and down Charing Cross Road. 1976 Eastern Even. News (Norwich) 9 Dec. 3/1 The meeting held at the Hippodrome theatre after a protest march with banners through the town centre. |
1960 Guardian 12 Oct. 8/5 Sir Edgar Whitehead..failed to..speak to the patient thousands of protest marchers. 1976 J. Wainwright Bastard v. 74 The leather-stampers [sc. policemen] who stroll alongside the protest marchers. |
1920 Challenge 21 May 45/1 Adler..has shown how this protest mechanism is responsible for neurotic manifestations of another kind. 1852 Mundy Our Antipodes (1857) 209 The protest meetings occurred on the 11th and 18th. 1902 Daily Chron. 27 June 8/1 A protest meeting was held at ten o'clock. 1939 L. MacNeice Autumn Jrnl. vii. 30 In the sodden park on Sunday protest Meetings assemble. 1965 S. T. Ollivier Petticoat Farm x. 137 The Richards brothers..called a protest meeting of all suppliers. |
1909 Westm. Gaz. 5 Nov. 5/2 A protest movement is being organised in Belgium against the interference of England in the internal policy of Belgium, especially in regard to the Congo question. 1974 tr. Wertheim's Evolution & Revolution iv. 114 In such a case, it should not be called a counterpoint any more, but a social protest movement. |
1969 Listener 5 June 806/1 Can he [sc. Bob Dylan] have forgotten entirely the horrors that gave such a fine edge to his protest music? Ibid. 6 Feb. 163/3 Mr Desmond Bird spoke of our ‘protest-oriented’ society. 1973 S. Henderson Understanding New Black Poetry 25 There has been, despite denials, some protest poetry in the sixties. |
1960 Guardian 11 July 5/3 A protest rally was held in Trafalgar Square. 1977 W. H. Manville Good-bye ii. 16 A lot of show-biz people were going to sing and tap-dance at a last-ditch protest rally. |
1968 Guardian 19 Sept. 9/4 Brave new causes for brave new protest singers. 1969 Listener 5 June 805/3 Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline LP completes his recent renunciation of the rebellious, CND-oriented protest-singer image in favour of that of a fun-loving country boy. |
1966 Punch 19 Jan. 70/2 Anyone tired of protest singing must have been cheered to learn that a group in California..is rapidly climbing the charts with seventeenth-century songs. |
1953 J. Greenway Amer. Folksong of Protest 3 Protest songs are unpleasant and disturbing. 1966 Punch 9 Feb. 208/2 The rise of the protest songs seems to be doing something for the audibility of lyrics. 1979 Oxford Times 21 Dec. 15 What happened to protest songs? Well, here's one, asking: ‘Do you find it attractive to be radioactive?’ |
1974 T. Allbeury Snowball xxii. 138 A million workers were due to vote on protest strikes. |
1973 Irish Times 2 Mar. 9/3 In the event, West Mayo threatened a protest vote. 1976 Times 3 Feb. 7/5 A substantial part of the [French] communist vote is a protest one. |
1948 in M. McLuhan Mech. Bride (1967) 6/6 A blank ballot is the only means of protest voting. |
▪ II. protest, v. (
prəʊˈtɛst)
[a. F. proteste-r (14th c. in Littré), ad. L. prōtest-ārī (also in late L. -āre) to declare formally in public, testify, protest, f. pro-1 1 a + testārī to be or speak as a witness, to declare, aver, assert.] 1. a. trans. To declare or state formally or solemnly (something about which a doubt is stated or implied); to affirm, asseverate, or assert in formal or solemn terms. Const. with
subord. clause,
compl., or
simple obj.1440 Humphrey Dk. Glouc. Advice in Rymer Fœdera (1710) X. 767/1, I Protest, for myn Excuse and my Discharge, that I never was, am, nor never shal be Consentyng..to his Deliverance. 1530 Palsgr. 668/2, I protest that I wyll nothyng obstynatly affyrme that [etc.]. 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. 33 Likewise Thomas in protesting him to be his lord and his God, doth professe that he is that only one God whome he had alway worshipped. 1561 in Calderwood Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) II. 119 Forasmuche as no man speeketh against this thing, you, N., sall protest heere, before God, and his holie congregatioun, that you have taken, and are now contented to have, M., heere present, for your lawfull wife. 1621 Jas. I in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. III. 169 Till then I proteste I can have no joye in the going well of my owin bussienesse. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 3 ¶7, I protest to you, the Gentleman has not spoken to me. 1759 Robertson Hist. Scot. vii. Wks. 1813 I. 512 She protested in the most solemn manner, that she was innocent of the crime laid to her charge. 1839 Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 38 She then..with dignity and calmness solemnly protested her innocence. |
b. intr. To make protestation or solemn affirmation.
1560 Bible (Genev.) 1 Kings ii. 42 Did I not make thee sweare..& protested vnto thee, saying [etc.]? ― Jer. xi. 7, I haue protested vnto your fathers.., rising earely & protesting, saying, Obey my voyce. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. ii. 240 Ham. Madam, how like you this Play? Qu. The Lady protests to much, me thinkes. 1611 Bible Gen. xliii. 3 The man did solemnly protest vnto vs, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. ― 1 Sam. viii. 9 Protest solemnly vnto them, and shew them the maner of the King that shall reigne over them. 1850 Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. v. 75 Every mother..who ever, by her hope against hope for some profligate, protested for a love deeper and wider than that of society. |
c. As a mere asseveration;
cf. declare v. 6 b.
1587 Turberv. Trag. T. (1837) 136, I lovde, I doe protest, And did of worldlie men account that worthie knight the best. 1612 Dekker If it be not good Wks. 1873 III. 313, I will doe it I protest. 1771 Junius Lett. xlix. (1820) 253, I cannot..call you the..basest fellow in the Kingdom. I protest, my lord, I do not think you so. |
d. trans. With direct speech as
obj.1903 E. Childers Riddle of Sands v. 48 ‘I'm not boring you, am I?’ he said suddenly. ‘I should think not,’ I protested. 1919 V. Woolf Night & Day xii. 154 ‘But I do read De Quincey,’ Ralph protested ‘more than Belloc and Chesterton.’ 1952 M. Laski Village xvi. 218 ‘But it's quite a good idea,’ protested Martha. 1976 B. Freemantle November Man iii. 36 ‘And why the hell not?’ he protested. |
2. a. trans. To make a formal written declaration of the non-acceptance or non-payment of (a bill of exchange) when duly presented. Also
fig.1655 Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 194 Permitting a Bill to be protested by M{supr} Webster. 1667 Pepys Diary 13 Dec., If the bill of 200l..be not paid..and..if I do not help him about it, they have no way but to let it be protested. 1765 Act 5 Geo. III, c. 49 §5 The person..who shall have protested such note. 1866 Crump Banking v. 112 The acceptor may procure the funds necessary to meet the bill, and prevent its being protested. |
† b. To protest the bill of (a person).
Obs. rare.
1622 Fletcher Beggar's Bush iv. i, I'm sure 'twould vex your hearts, to be protested; Ye're all fair merchants. 1632 Massinger City Madam i. iii, I must and will have my money, Or I'll protest you first, and, that done, have The statute made for bankrupts served upon you. |
c. U.S. Football. To lodge a protest against (a player); to object to as disqualified.
1905 McClure's Mag. June 118/2 Princeton protested Thomas J. Thorp, one of Columbia's best men. Columbia returned the compliment by protesting Davis, Princeton's captain and end-rush. |
† 3. To assert publicly; to proclaim, publish; to declare, show forth.
Obs.a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV 227 In case y{supt} he did refuse so to do, then he [the herald] dyd protest the harme that should ensue, in the forme and maner, that in suche a case is..accustumed to be done. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado v. i. 149 Do me right, or I will protest your cowardise. c 1620 [see protested 1]. 1641 (Sept. 9) in Rogers Protests of Lords (1875) I. 6 Therefore to acquit ourselves of the dangers and inconveniences that might arise..we do protest our disassents to this vote, and do thus enter it as aforesaid. [Cf. sense 7.] a 1644 Quarles Sol. Recant. Sol. xii. 46 Remember thy Creator; O protest His praises to the world. |
† 4. To vow; to promise or undertake solemnly.
1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 432 That suche [married priests] as by the consent of their wiues, wil proteste to make a diuorsement they do handle more gently. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. i. i. 89 On Dianaes Altar to protest For aie, austerity, and single life. 1624 Brief Inform. Affairs Palatinate 36 As for the Dignitie Imperiall, the Elector Palatine hath alwayes protested to recognize him for Emperor. c 1660 in Gutch Coll. Cur. II. 455 The Scots seriously protested the performance of all these. |
† 5. To make a request in legal form; to demand as a right; to stipulate. Const. with
subord. clause, also
intr. with
for.
Sc. Obs.1508 Kennedie Flyting w. Dunbar 331 Syne ger Stobo for thy lyf protest. 1574 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 410 The said Maister Johnne protestit that the said Lord Robert sould not be haldin to answer to the saidis letters. 1678 Sir G. Mackenzie Crim. Laws Scot. ii. xx. §3 (1699) 230 When Advocats assist Pannels, especially in Treason, they use to protest that no escape of theirs in pleading, may be misconstructed. 1752 J. Louthian Form of Process (ed. 2) 113 Of old, before inclosing the Jury, the Lord Advocate or Prosecutor used to protest for an Assize of Error against the Inquest, if they assoilzied. |
† 6. To call to witness; to appeal to.
Obs.1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions App. 339 Protesting God, that he entended not to tourne aside, or hide..any thing that is another mannes. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 480 Unoriginal Night and Chaos wilde..with clamorous uproare Protesting Fate supreame. 1675 Hobbes Odyssey (1677) 9 Protest the gods against their injuries; And let the whole assembly know your case. |
7. a. intr. To give formal expression to objection, dissent, or disapproval; to make a formal (often written) declaration
against some proposal, decision, procedure, or action; to remonstrate. Also
const. at.
1608 R. Armin Nest Ninn. (1842) 48 This lusty jester..in fury draws his dagger, and begins to protest. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. Ded. A ij b, Such imprest money I doe not like, but protest against it. 1641 (Dec. 24) in Rogers Protests of Lords (1875) I. 7, I do protest against the deferring the debate thereof until Monday, to the end to discharge myself of any ill consequence that may happen thereby. 1718 (Feb. 20) Ibid. I. 240 We, whose names are subscribed, do protest against the resolution for refusing the other instruction, moved to be given to the same Committee on the Mutiny Bill, for the reasons following: 1st, Because [etc.]. 1762 Goldsm. Cit. W. xxxiii, This I protested against, as being no way Chinese. 1873 J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. II. Pref. 12 A minister of religion may fairly protest against being made a politician. 1947 Partridge Usage & Abusage 46/1 The following from a newspaper placard, The Daily Worker, Feb. 6, 1938, —40,000 protest at food prices. 1969 Daily Tel. 22 Apr. 29 Conservatives protested angrily..at the Government's failure to announce new contribution rates. |
b. trans. To protest against (an action or event); to make the subject of a protest. Chiefly
U.S. Cf. 2 c.
1904 Brooklyn Eagle 5 June **5/6 Many of the students are much incensed at the judges and will probably protest the decision. 1927 E. G. Mears Resident Orientals on Pacific Coast i. 6 The Peking Foreign Office has regularly protested acts of injustice and violence. 1930 C. Johnson Negro in Amer. Civilisation xx. 297 They are protesting the disposition of public school officials to ignore vocational training for Negro youth. 1944 Sun (Baltimore) 22 July 2/1 For Hitler it was sufficient that this former chief of staff resigned in 1938 to protest Hitler's march into Austria. 1951 Newsweek 27 Sept. 74/3 The residents of Follanshee..have protested the sale, claiming it would throw 2,441 persons out of work. 1956 [see heel n.1 11]. 1966 H. Kemelman Saturday Rabbi went Hungry ii. 15 For one thing, I protest their having been singled out. They were pushed and one of them fell. 1977 H. Fast Immigrants ii. 82 Dan protested naming the child after Jean's mother. 1978 Dædalus Summer 188 They protest the brutal simplicities, the unilinearity and determinism of the great cruel myths of modernization. |