protagonist

protagonist
   Literally the word means "first actor" (from the Greek protos and agonistes), and by extension it may be applied to the person who most drives the action in any affair. However, there cannot properly be more than one protagonist per affair, as was evidently thought here: "During the anomalous decade of the 1930s the three protagonists of this book each played out important. . . roles" (New York Times). The word is not the opposite of antagonist, of which there can be any number. Nor does it necessarily have anything to do with heroic or admirable behavior or bear any relationship to the Latin pro-, meaning "for" or "on behalf of." A protagonist may champion a cause, and in practice often does, but that isn't implicit in the word.

Dictionary of troublesome word. . 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Protagonist — Protagonist …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • protagonist — 1. This is a good example of what Fowler (1926) called a ‘popularized technicality’, i.e. a term used in a special domain (in this case, ancient Greek drama) and extended into general use with consequent (and controversial) shifts in meaning. In… …   Modern English usage

  • protagonist — PROTAGONÍST, Ă, protagonişti, ste, s.m. şi f. 1. Persoană care joacă rolul principal într o piesă de teatru, într o operă, într un film; p. gener. erou, personaj principal. 2. Reprezentant de frunte al unei mişcări, al unei teorii etc.; promotor …   Dicționar Român

  • Protagonist — Sm Erster im Wettkampf, Hauptfigur per. Wortschatz fach. (18. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus l. protagonista, vielleicht nach dem Vorbild des Englischen. Dieses aus gr. prōtagōnistḗs, zu gr. prõtos erster und gr. ágōn Kampf .    Ebenso nndl.… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Protagonist — Pro*tag o*nist, n. [Gr. prwtagonisth s; prw^tos first + agonisth s an actor, combatant, fr. agw n a contest.] One who takes the leading part in a drama; hence, one who takes lead in some great scene, enterprise, conflict, or the like. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Protagonist — Protagonist,der:⇨Vorkämpfer Protagonist 1.→Pionier 2.→Hauptperson …   Das Wörterbuch der Synonyme

  • protagonist — protagònist (protagonȉst) m DEFINICIJA 1. a. glumac nosilac glavne uloge b. nosilac radnje u književnom djelu (romanu, drami); glavni junak 2. retor. pokretač zbivanja, projekta i sl.; začetnik, inicijator ETIMOLOGIJA grč. prōtagōnistḗs …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Protagonist — (v. gr.), 1) Schauspieler, welcher die erste Rolle spielte; 2) der zuerst in der Volksversammlung sprach; 3) Sieger in den Wettkämpfen; 4) der die Oberhand in etwas hat …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Protagonist — (griech.), der Erste im Wettkampf, auch erster Schauspieler, Hauptrolle (s. Deuteragonist) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Protagoníst — Protagoníst, (grch.), im altgriech. Drama der erste Schauspieler, der die Hauptrollen spielte …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Protagonist — Protagonist, griech. dtsch., der erste Kämpfer, Schauspieler, Redner, Redner …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

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