different between protagonist vs maincharacter

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ????????????? (pr?tag?nist?s, “a chief actor”), from ?????? (prôtos, “first”) + ????????? (ag?nist?s, “a combatant, pleader, actor”).

Surface analysis prot- (“first”) +? agonist (“combatant, participant”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /p???tæ.??.n?st/
• (US) IPA^(key): /p?o??tæ.??.n?st/

Noun

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

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. This usage is widely considered to be erroneous.

Coordinate terms

• deuteragonist
• tritagonist

Related terms

• agonist
• agonistes

Translations

Further reading

• protagonist in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• protagonist in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

References

Danish

Noun

protagonist c (singular definite protagonisten, plural indefinite protagonister)

1. (literature) protagonist

   Synonym: hovedperson

Declension

Further reading

• “protagonist” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

Ultimately from Ancient Greek ????????????? (pr?tag?nist?s). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pro?.ta?.?o??n?st/
• Hyphenation: pro?ta?go?nist
• Rhymes: -?st

Noun

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.

   Synonyms: hoofdpersonage, hoofdpersoon

Antonyms

• antagonist

Derived terms

• protagonistisch

Romanian

Etymology

From French protagoniste

Noun

protagonist m (plural protagoni?ti)

1. protagonist

Declension