protagonist

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (prōtagōnistḗs, “actor who plays the first part; leader”),^[2][3][4][5] formed from πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”) and ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “competitor, combatant; actor”).^[5][4][6][2] The second part comes from the Greek word for a contest, the source of agony,^[3][4][6] and the first from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“forward”).^[4] Compare Portuguese protagonista (1615), Spanish protagonista (1687) and Italian protagonista (1698).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The chief character in a play: 1671, in the preface to Dryden's An Evening's Love.^[2][3][6] Dictionary.com dates it to 1665–75.^[7]

Semantic evolution

In Greek drama the protagonist was the leading actor, and there could be only one in a play.^[8] In English the word soon spread from the chief character of a play to the leading character, or one of the main characters, of any narrative, such as a novel or poem.^[2][9] From 1837 it was used of the main figure in any situation or of a prominent champion of a cause;^[2] Etymonline dates this general sense to 1889.^[4] A weakened use for any supporter or advocate of a cause is recorded from 1880 by the OED,^[2] and Etymonline dates it to 1935, explaining it as a mistake that took prot- for the Latin prefix pro-, "for".^[4] The sporting sense, a leading player or competitor, appears in 1894.^[2] On the same model English later formed deuteragonist, the second actor in a drama, recorded from 1840.^[4]

Timeline

• 1671 – the chief character in a play, in Dryden.^[2][3]
• 1837 – the main figure in any situation; a champion of a cause.^[2]
• 1880 – a supporter or advocate of a cause.^[2]
• 1894 – a leading player or competitor in a game or sport.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The main character in a play, film, novel or other story.^[10][6][2]
2. In ancient Greek drama, the actor who played the leading part.^[6][8]
3. A leading figure in a contest, movement or situation; a champion of a cause: She was one of the protagonists of the reform campaign.^[10][6][2]
4. A supporter or advocate of a cause or idea.^[10][2][8]

Word family

• protagonism

Related words

• agonist
• antagonist
• agony
• deuteragonist
• proto-

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary notes that a Greek play had only one protagonist, and that many writers still keep to this when they use the word for the main character of a drama or other fiction.^[8] The sense "supporter, advocate" is often criticized: it is thought to come from taking the first syllable for the prefix pro-, "in favour of",^[4][1] and is widely considered an error,^[1] although the OED records it from 1880.^[2] The opposite of protagonist in a drama is antagonist.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins