protean

See also: Protean

English

WOTD – 22 March 2009

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Πρωτεύς (Prōteús), the Greek warden of sea beasts, renowned for his ability to change shape.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹəʊ.tɪ.ən/, /pɹəʊˈtiː.ən/
• (US) enPR: prō'ti-ən, prō-tē'ən, IPA^(key): /ˈpɹoʊ.tɪ.ən/, /pɹoʊˈtiː.ən/

• Audio (US)

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Adjective

protean (comparative more protean, superlative most protean)

1. Exceedingly variable; readily assuming different shapes or forms.

   An amoeba is a protean animalcule.

   His plots and protean characters plunge readers into the world of fable, yet their universal appeal, as this biography shows, is deeply rooted in the particularity of Garcia Marquez’s own idiosyncratic early life...

   • William A. Henry III:

     He loved to show off his protean talent.

   • 1980, Gershon Legman, The New Limerick

     […] the word's protean expressiveness has been observed in a xeroxlore item printed in Robert Anton Wilson's Playboy's Book of Forbidden Words […]

2. Of or pertaining to Proteus; characteristic of Proteus.

Synonyms

• (exceedingly variable; readily assuming different shapes or forms): multiform, polymorphic, polymorphous; See also Thesaurus:multiform

Translations

exceedingly variable

• Czech: protéovský
• Dutch: wisselvallig (nl), veelvormig (nl)
• Finnish: monimuotoinen (fi), muuntautumiskykyinen, kameleonttimainen
• French: variable (fr), changeant (fr), instable (fr), protéiforme (fr)

• German: vielgestaltig (de)
• Polish: zmienny (pl) m
• Serbo-Croatian: protejski (sh), nestalan (sh)
• Spanish: proteico

of or pertaining to Proteus; characteristic of Proteus

• Dutch: proteïsch
• French: protéique (fr)

• German: proteusartig
• Serbo-Croatian: protejski (sh)

See also

• Protea
• shapeshifting

Anagrams

• Paterno, operant, pronate, tropane