protagonist
See also: Protagonist
English
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]From Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (prōtagōnistḗs, “a chief actor”), from πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”) + ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”). By surface analysis, prot- (“first”) + agonist (“combatant, participant”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]protagonist (plural protagonists)
- (authorship) The main character, or one of the main characters, in any story, such as a literary work or drama.
- Antonym: antagonist
- A leading person in a contest; a principal performer.
- (proscribed) An advocate or champion of a cause or course of action.
Usage notes
[edit]The use of protagonist to mean a proponent or supporter of a cause is a 20th century development that may have been influenced by the misunderstanding that the first syllable of the word is the prefix pro-, meaning favouring.[1] This usage is widely considered to be erroneous.[2][3]
Antonyms
[edit]Coordinate terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]main character
|
leading person in a contest
|
advocate
|
References
[edit]- ^ “protagonist”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
- ^ Pinker, Steven (2014) The Sense of Style, New York, New York: Penguin, →ISBN
- ^ Feloni, Richard (2015 November 30) “The 58 Most Commonly Misused Words and Phrases”, in The Independent[1], Independent Print Limited
Further reading
[edit]- “protagonist”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “protagonist”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Danish
[edit]Noun
[edit]protagonist c (singular definite protagonisten, plural indefinite protagonister)
- (literature) protagonist
- Synonym: hovedperson
Declension
[edit]Declension of protagonist
| common gender |
Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | protagonist | protagonisten | protagonister | protagonisterne |
| genitive | protagonists | protagonistens | protagonisters | protagonisternes |
Further reading
[edit]Dutch
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Ultimately from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (prōtagōnistḗs). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]protagonist m (plural protagonisten)
- protagonist, main character [from 18th c.]
- 1780, M. C. Curtius, Aristoteles Verhandeling over de dichtkunst, tr. from German, publ. by Arend Fokke Simonsz., page 105.
- Hy voerde nog een perſoon in, en verdeelde het Treurſpel in twee rollen, van welke de eerste Acteur de hoofdrol ſpeelde en daarvan de Protagonist heette;
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- Synonyms: hoofdpersonage, hoofdpersoon
- 1780, M. C. Curtius, Aristoteles Verhandeling over de dichtkunst, tr. from German, publ. by Arend Fokke Simonsz., page 105.
Antonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Romanian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from French protagoniste.
Noun
[edit]protagonist m (plural protagoniști)
Declension
[edit]| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | ||
| nominative-accusative | protagonist | protagonistul | protagoniști | protagoniștii | |
| genitive-dative | protagonist | protagonistului | protagoniști | protagoniștilor | |
| vocative | protagonistule | protagoniștilor | |||
Swedish
[edit]Noun
[edit]protagonist c
- (authorship) a protagonist
- Antonym: antagonist
Declension
[edit]Declension of protagonist
References
[edit]Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂eǵ-
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms prefixed with prot-
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English proscribed terms
- en:Fictional characters
- en:Narratology
- en:People
- en:Stock characters
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- Danish common-gender nouns
- da:Literature
- Dutch terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɪst
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch terms with quotations
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian masculine nouns
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns