ἀνταγωνιστής

Forms

ᾰ̓ντᾰγωνῐστής (antagōnistḗs) m (genitive ᾰ̓ντᾰγωνῐστοῦ); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is the agent noun from Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνίζομαι (antagōnízomai, “to struggle against, compete with”) + -τής (-tḗs).^[1][2][3] The verb is ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai, “to contend for a prize”) with the prefix ἀντι- (anti-, “against”), and that verb comes from ἀγών (agṓn, “contest, struggle”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Euripides' Trojan Women uses it for a rival in love, and the 5th-century Dissoi Logoi also has it.^[5][6] Hesychius and Photius quote the Euripides line for it.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

In Classical prose it is the ordinary word for an opponent or competitor: Aristophanes and Plato use it, Xenophon writes of those who will be rivals “to us”, and Isocrates calls the Athenians hard opponents for the barbarians.^[6][5] Aristotle speaks of opponents of a system of education, and Polybius of someone having an opponent to his plans.^[5] Lucian uses it for the other party in a game of love.^[6] Hesychius glosses it with ἀντίπαλος (antípalos).^[7] In the Septuagint it occurs once, in the Fourth Book of Maccabees, for an opponent.^[9]

Late Latin borrowed it as antagonista, and English took antagonist in the 1590s, from French antagoniste or directly from the Latin word.^[4] Modern Greek ανταγωνιστής (antagonistís) is a learned form of the ancient word, with a feminine ανταγωνίστρια (antagonístria); it means a competitor and, as an adjective, competing firms or industries.^[10] The Χρηστικό Λεξικό also points to French antagoniste and compétiteur and English antagonist.^[11]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Euripides uses it for a rival in love, and the Dissoi Logoi has it too.^[5][6]
• 5th–4th century BC – Xenophon, Plato and Isocrates use it for a rival or opponent.^[5][6]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle writes of opponents of a system of education.^[5][6]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for an opponent to someone's plans.^[5][6]
• 1590s – English borrows it as antagonist, through French or Late Latin.^[4]
• Modern Greek – The learned ανταγωνιστής (antagonistís) means a competitor.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. An opponent, competitor, rival; with a dative of the person and a genitive of the thing contested.^[5][6]
2. A rival in love (with ἔρωτος).^[5][6]

Related words

• ἀνταγωνίζομαι (antagōnízomai)
• ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai)
• ἀγών (agṓn)
• ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs)
• ἀντίπαλος (antípalos)
• Latin antagonista
• English antagonist

Usage notes

Photius's lexicon lists the word with references to Euripides and Plato, which shows that it was accepted in good Attic.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1889), An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
7. ^ a b Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)
8. ^ a b Photius, Lexicon, ed. Christos Theodoridis, vol. 1 (Α–Δ) (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1982); ed. Richard Porson (Cambridge, 1822)
9. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens