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pro·te·a

(prōtē-ə)

Any of numerous trees or shrubs of the family Proteaceae, especially a shrub of the southern African genus Protea having large conelike flower heads with showy bracts.

[New Latin Prōtea, genus name, from Latin Prōteus, the shape-shifting god Proteus (in reference to the great variation in floral shape and color shown by species of the genus ); see PROTEUS.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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