Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Protective \Pro*tect"ive\, a. [Cf. F. protectif.]
   Affording protection; sheltering; defensive. `` The favor of
   a protective Providence.'' --Feltham.

   {Protective coloring} (Zo["o]l.), coloring which serves for
      the concealment and preservation of a living organism. Cf.
      {Mimicry}. --Wallace.

   {Protective tariff} (Polit. Econ.), a tariff designed to
      secure protection (see {Protection}, 4.), as distinguished
      from a tariff designed to raise revenue. See {Tariff}, and
      {Protection}, 4.

Source : WordNet®

protective tariff
     n : a tariff imposed to protect domestic firms from import
         competition