protest

Etymology

PIE word *tréyes From the Middle English verb protesten, from Old French protester, from Latin prōtestārī, present active infinitive of prōtestor, from prō + testor, from testis (“witness”).

verb

1. (intransitive) To make a strong objection.
   How dare you, I protest!
   The public took to the streets to protest over the planned change to the law.
   U.S. and European protested against Spanish conduct in Cuba. 2009, Cuba
2. (transitive) To affirm (something).
   I protest my innocence.
   I do protest and declare …
3. (transitive, chiefly Canada, US) To object to.
   They protested the demolition of the school.
4. To call as a witness in affirming or denying, or to prove an affirmation; to appeal to.
5. (law, transitive) to make a solemn written declaration, in due form, on behalf of the holder, against all parties liable for any loss or damage to be sustained by non-acceptance or non-payment of (a bill or note). This should be made by a notary public, whose seal it is the usual practice to affix.
6. (obsolete, transitive) To publish; to make known.

noun

1. A formal objection, especially one by a group.
   They lodged a protest with the authorities.
2. A collective gesture of disapproval; a demonstration.
   We held a protest in front of City Hall.
   All this has led to an explosion of protest across China, including among a middle class that has discovered nimbyism. 2013-08-10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848
   Sage Ip, a 29-year-old flight attendant who cast her ballot on Sunday in the Sai Ying Pun district, said she voted in the primary because she was worried that she would never get a chance to do so again. “Voting is something that is still within our capacity. We can’t express ourselves at protests anymore.” July 13, 2020, Austin Ramzy, Elaine Yu, Tiffany May, “Hong Kong Voters Defy Beijing, Endorsing Protest Leaders in Primary”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-07-14
3. The noting by a notary public of an unpaid or unaccepted bill.
4. A written declaration, usually by the master of a ship, stating the circumstances attending loss or damage of ship or cargo, etc.