Expert: Maria - 5/9/2010

Question
Hello, I've got a question. What is the Latin translation for: Protect my loved ones?

Answer

Hello,

Here’s the Latin translation of “Protect my loved ones”:

-“Meos, quaeso, protege!” as well as “Meos, quaeso, custodi!”.

If this phrase is a prayer  to God, i.e. “O Lord, protect my loved ones”, here’s its translation:

-“Domine, quaeso, protege meos!” or “Domine, quaeso, custodi  meos!”

Best regards,
Maria
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Note that:

-Protect = PROTEGE (2nd person singular,  present  imperative of PROTEGO, I protect) or CUSTODI (2nd person singular,  present  imperative of  CUSTODIO, I protect)

-my loved ones = MEOS (direct object, accusative of the plural form MEI, my loved ones).

Note that I’ve added the interjection QUAESO as a polite expression of entreaty meaning ‘I beseech you', ‘I pray', ‘please’.
As for DOMINE, it is the vocative of DOMINUS, lord.

As you can see, Latin word order can be different from English. Latin  is in fact an inflected language where syntactical relationships are indicated by the endings of each term, not by the order of the words