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

• protagonists
  plural

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• protagonists
  plural

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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

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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

See Examples For:

protagonist protagonists

By treating his Starfleet commander as if he were a Shakespearean protagonist, Stewart transformed a franchise at a crossroads into a fresh, thoughtful look at human possibility.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

But she admits that stepping back into acting, especially as the film’s protagonist, wasn’t an easy transition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Ms. Hoyer, a German-British historian and journalist, chooses as her protagonist not Hitler, a frequent Weimar visitor, but Carl Weirich, a hardworking bookbinder, stationer and diarist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

His protagonist is a writer who’s trying to build a relationship with his grandchild, Ben, while navigating the half-suppressed scorn of his daughter-in-law and the irritated complacency of his son.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Helen, once a peripheral figure in these discussions, became the epicenter, instigator, and protagonist.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

"We're going to remove all the pews so we can fit as many wheelchairs as possible. We want people with disabilities to be the protagonists," director Jorge Silanes told AFP.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

She serves merely as a cautionary tale, when it’s already too late for our protagonists.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Inspired by an unfinished play by Federico García Lorca, this Netflix film—Spain’s Oscar entry for best international feature—follows multiple protagonists and stretches across three different points in time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

There’s an understandable pacing dip afterward, when the wounded villagers think the nightmare is over and our protagonists learn separately that the forest holds more of these mysteriously strong creatures.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

She reads all the time—in the halls, in the cafeteria— mostly novels with angsty protagonists: The Virgin Suicides, Catcher in the Rye, The Bell Jar.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

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Related Words

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

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