English
adult protection
From adult (“a fully grown human”) + protection (“the process of keeping someone safe”).
A compound of adult ‘a fully grown human’ + protection ‘the process of keeping someone safe’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow’
…
Latin olēscō ‘to grow’
Latin adolescō ‘to grow up’
Latin adultus ‘grown up’
French adulte
English adult
Latin prōtegō ‘to protect’
Latin prōtēctus ‘covered’
Late Latin prōtectiō ‘a covering over’
English protection
The story
The incontinence sense is a euphemism for keeping an adult safe from (protected against) accidents.
Today it means
noun Policies and actions in place for the protection of (sometimes vulnerable) adults; adult safeguarding.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / adult protection