Trivia Time

What ancient Greek dramatist introduced a "first actor" in a play, later called the protagonist?

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protagonist

American  

[proh-tag-uh-nist] / proʊˈtæg ə nɪst /

noun

1. the leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work.

2. a proponent for or advocate of a political cause, social program, etc.

3. the leader or principal person in a movement, cause, etc.

4. the first actor in ancient Greek drama, who played not only the main role, but also other roles when the main character was offstage.

5. Physiology. agonist.

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protagonist British  

/ prəʊˈtæɡənɪst /

noun

1. the principal character in a play, story, etc

2. a supporter, esp when important or respected, of a cause, political party, etc

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protagonist Cultural  

1. The principal character in a literary work. Hamlet, for example, is the protagonist of the play by William Shakespeare that bears his name.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• protagonism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of protagonist

First recorded in 1665–75; from Greek prōtagōnistḗs “actor who plays the first part,” literally, “first combatant,” equivalent to prôt(os) “first” + agōnistḗs “one who contends for a prize, combatant, actor”; see origin at proto-, antagonist

Explanation

A protagonist is the central character in a story: the protagonist of Huckleberry Finn is — guess who? — Huckleberry Finn. A novel, movie, or play might have many main characters, but it can really only have one protagonist — or maybe two in the case of, say, Romeo and Juliet. That's because protos means "first" in Greek, and agonistes means "competitor" or "actor." It can also mean a leading figure in a real-life situation: "Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were the protagonists of the U.S. Civil War." Don't use it to mean "a supporter of an idea or cause"; the word you're looking for in that situation is proponent.

Example Sentences

A female protagonist and a talking cube are among the updates fans of the popular action game series God of War will see in the next instalment.

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026

These facts are narrated with detachment by the protagonist herself.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

American actor Chiwetel Ejiofor plays the protagonist in what became Parsons' first full-length director's credit.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

Roco is “Hell Grind’s” protagonist, who journeys through a dystopian wasteland to save his fellow thief and love interest Lulu.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

After Aisha introduced the protagonist, Safiya provided the setting and central conflict, and Nademah took it from there.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

Related Words

• central character
• central figure
• hero
• heroine
• lead character
• leading character
• leading figure
• main character
• main figure
• principal
• principal character
• principal figure