English
protagonist
Protagonist comes from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής ‘a chief actor’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρωταγωνιστήςprōtagōnistḗs‘a chief actor’
- Englishearliest quotation 1929protagonist
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπρωταγωνιστήςprōtagōnistḗs‘a chief actor’
- Englishearliest quotation 1929protagonist
Earliest quotation: 1929, Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, Jewish Music: Its Historical Development: “It was toward the end of the sixteenth century…”
A compound of πρῶτος ‘first’ + ἀγωνιστής ‘a combatant, pleader, actor’
Proto-Hellenic *pro-atos
Ancient Greek πρό ‘before’
Ancient Greek πρῶτος ‘first’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
Proto-Hellenic *ágō ‘to lead, to guide’
Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́γω ‘to lead’
Ancient Greek ἀγών ‘a gathering, an assembly’
Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι ‘I contend for a prize’
Ancient Greek ἀγωνιστής ‘a combatant, pleader, actor’
Every English word from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής
Today it means
noun The main character, or one of the main characters, in any story, such as a literary work or drama.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής / protagonist