Wiktionary

protagonist

See also: Protagonist

English

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Etymology

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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

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Noun

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protagonist (plural protagonists)

  1. (authorship) The main character, or one of the main characters, in any story, such as a literary work or drama.
    Antonym: antagonist
  2. A leading person in a contest; a principal performer.
  3. (proscribed) An advocate or champion of a cause or course of action.

Usage notes

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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

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Coordinate terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “protagonist”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
  2. ^ Pinker, Steven (2014) The Sense of Style, New York, New York: Penguin, →ISBN
  3. ^ Feloni, Richard (2015 November 30) “The 58 Most Commonly Misused Words and Phrases”, in The Independent‎[1], Independent Print Limited

Further reading

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Danish

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Noun

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protagonist c (singular definite protagonisten, plural indefinite protagonister)

  1. (literature) protagonist
    Synonym: hovedperson

Declension

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Declension of protagonist
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative protagonist protagonisten protagonister protagonisterne
genitive protagonists protagonistens protagonisters protagonisternes

Further reading

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Dutch

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Etymology

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Ultimately from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (prōtagōnistḗs). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˌproː.taː.ɣoːˈnɪst/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: pro‧ta‧go‧nist
  • Rhymes: -ɪst

Noun

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protagonist m (plural protagonisten)

  1. 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

Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French protagoniste.

Noun

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protagonist m (plural protagoniști)

  1. protagonist

Declension

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singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative protagonist protagonistul protagoniști protagoniștii
genitive-dative protagonist protagonistului protagoniști protagoniștilor
vocative protagonistule protagoniștilor

Swedish

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Noun

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protagonist c

  1. (authorship) a protagonist
    Antonym: antagonist

Declension

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Declension of protagonist
nominative genitive
singular indefinite protagonist protagonists
definite protagonisten protagonistens
plural indefinite protagonister protagonisters
definite protagonisterna protagonisternas

References

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