protagonist
English
Etymology
From Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (prōtagōnistḗs, “a chief actor”), from πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”) + ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”).
Surface analysis prot- (“first”) + agonist (“combatant, participant”).
Pronunciation
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Audio (US): (file)
Noun
protagonist (plural protagonists)
- (authorship) The main character, or one of the main characters, in any story, such as a literary work or drama.
- Antonym: antagonist
- A leading person in a contest; a principal performer.
- (proscribed) An advocate or champion of a cause or course of action.
Usage notes
The use of protagonist to mean a proponent or supporter of a cause is a 20th century development that may have been influenced by the misunderstanding that the first syllable of the word is the prefix pro-, meaning favouring.[1] This usage is widely considered to be erroneous.[2][3]
Coordinate terms
Related terms
Translations
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Further reading
- “protagonist”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “protagonist”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
References
- ^ “protagonist”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
- ^ Pinker, Steven (2014) The Sense of Style, New York, New York: Penguin, →ISBN
- ^ Feloni, Richard (2015 November 30) “The 58 Most Commonly Misused Words and Phrases”, in The Independent[1], Independent Print Limited
Danish
Noun
protagonist c (singular definite protagonisten, plural indefinite protagonister)
- (literature) protagonist
- Synonym: hovedperson
Declension
common gender |
Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | protagonist | protagonisten | protagonister | protagonisterne |
genitive | protagonists | protagonistens | protagonisters | protagonisternes |
Further reading
Dutch
Etymology
Ultimately from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (prōtagōnistḗs). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation
Noun
protagonist m (plural protagonisten)
- protagonist, main character [from 18th c.]
- 1780, M. C. Curtius, Aristoteles Verhandeling over de dichtkunst, tr. from German, publ. by Arend Fokke Simonsz., page 105.
- Hy voerde nog een perſoon in, en verdeelde het Treurſpel in twee rollen, van welke de eerste Acteur de hoofdrol ſpeelde en daarvan de Protagonist heette;
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- Synonyms: hoofdpersonage, hoofdpersoon
- 1780, M. C. Curtius, Aristoteles Verhandeling over de dichtkunst, tr. from German, publ. by Arend Fokke Simonsz., page 105.
Antonyms
Derived terms
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms prefixed with prot-
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English proscribed terms
- en:Fiction
- en:Fictional characters
- en:Narratology
- en:People
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- Danish common-gender nouns
- da:Literature
- Dutch terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɪst
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch terms with quotations