antagonism

Etymology

It is borrowed from French antagonisme,^[2][3][4][5] or directly borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀνταγώνισμα (antagṓnisma),^[5][6] a noun of action from ἀνταγωνίζομαι (antagōnízomai, “to struggle against, be a rival”), formed from ἀντί (antí, “against”) and ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai, “to contend for a prize”), from ἀγών (agṓn, “contest, struggle”).^[5][6][2] The revised OED instead treats it as formed within English from the stem of antagonist and antagonize with -ism, comparing the Byzantine Greek noun and French antagonisme, which is recorded once in 1593 in the sense of combat, then for the opposing force of two muscles (1751) and for a rivalry between opposed systems (1826).^[7] Milton used the earlier noun antagony.^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Active opposition between two forces: 1716, in M. Davies's Athenae Britannicae.^[7] Etymonline dates the word to 1797, the year the OED gives for its use with prepositions such as against and between.^[5][7]

Semantic evolution

The word first meant mutual resistance between opposing forces, whether physical or mental, and later also hostility that need not be mutual.^[7] From 1744 it was used in physiology of muscles that act against each other,^[7] a sense Merriam-Webster dates to 1752.^[2] In the 19th century it took in an opposing force or principle itself (1821, in De Quincey), contrast or tension in a work of art (1826), and the counteraction of one drug by another (1859).^[7] The Shorter Oxford dates the word's general use to the early 19th century, and Dictionary.com to 1835–40.^[3][8]

Timeline

• 1716 – mutual opposition of two forces; hostility.^[7]
• 1744 – in physiology, the opposing action of muscles.^[7]
• 1797 – opposition against or between things.^[7][5]
• 1821 – an opposing force or principle.^[7]
• 1826 – tension or contrast in a work of art.^[7]
• 1859 – the counteraction of one drug or substance by another.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. Open opposition or hostility, often mutual: the antagonism between the two neighbours.^[9][2][7]
2. Opposition between conflicting forces, tendencies or principles.^[2][7]
3. (physiology) The opposing action of muscles that move a part in opposite directions.^[9][2][7]
4. (pharmacology) The inhibiting or cancelling of the action of one substance, such as a drug, by another.^[9][2][7]
5. (biology) The inhibition of the growth of one kind of organism by another.^[9]

Related words

• agon
• antagonist
• antagonistic
• antagonize
• agony

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins