— protohistorian /proh'toh hi stawr"ee euhn, -stohr"-/ , n. — protohistoric /proh'toh hi stawr"ik, -stor"-/ , protohistorical , adj.
/proh'toh his"teuh ree, -his"tree/ , n. , pl. protohistories .
1. a branch of study concerned with the transition period between prehistory and the earliest recorded history.
2. the period in a culture immediately before its recorded history begins.
[ 1915-20; PROTO- + HISTORY ]