Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Being or serving as a guardian or protector: tutelary gods.
- adj. Of or relating to a guardian or guardianship.
- n. One that serves as a guardian or protector.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A tutelary divinity; an animal regarded as a tutelary divinity: as, Anubis, the tutelary of sepulchers.
- Same as tutelar.
Wiktionary
- adj. Having guardianship or protection of
- adj. Of or pertaining to guardians
- adj. Having the propensity or quality of a tutor
- n. A guardian or protector
WordNet 3.0
- adj. providing protective supervision; watching over or safeguarding
Etymologies
- From Latin tūtēlārius, guardian, from tūtēla, tutelage; see tutelage.
Examples
“The social motives may be called tutelary, as tending to restrain from mischievous intentions; but any motive may become tutelary on occasion.”
The World's Greatest Books — Volume 14 — Philosophy and Economics
“But we stayed not here to see the sights -- not even the droll little statue of the Mannikin (at the corner of a street, in a most improper attitude; and there is a Group quite as unseemly in one of the Markets, so I was told, although at that time we were fain to pass them by), which Mannikin the burgesses of Bruxelles regard as a kind of tutelary Divinity, and set much greater store by than do we by our London Stone, or Little Naked Boy in Panyer Alley.”
“He makes the various threats be they windmills or Inquisition torture seem real and inevitable while making the whimsical and, ultimately, delusional escapades seem possible, tutelary, and entertaining.”
The Huffington Post: James Scarborough: Man of La Mancha at Musical Theatre West
“Wheeler has become a tutelary figure and almost mythic in her memory.”
The Guardian: The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress by Beryl Bainbridge – review
“But when school administrators restrict speech, acting in their tutelary and managerial capacity, they get more leeway (indeed, I would argue a bit too much leeway).”
“A succession of directors have brought together an array of materials that reflected the mind-set of its tutelary spirit.”
“The Gelug tradition has the Six-Armed Mahakala as a tutelary deity.”
“What sort of a tutelary protector for the Gelug is it that one has to conceal when a Kagyu Lama arrives?”
“Anyway, the point is; the real tutelary deities of the Gelug are those that have been appointed to the task after the ordering and assigning process approved by Je Rinpoche.”
“These three are tutelary deities found within the Gelug tradition.”
brtom "Nay, had the hussy's scouringbrush not been her tutelary angel it had gone with her as hard as with Hagar, the Egyptian!"
Joyce, Ulysses, 14 Jan 20, 2007