protagonist
Pronunciation
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
- The main character in a play, film, novel or other story.[10][6][2]
- In ancient Greek drama, the actor who played the leading part.[6][8]
- 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]
- 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
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
- ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
- ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins