Other forms: protagonists
The protagonist is the central figure a story follows. The novel's protagonist, an unlikeable protagonist, the protagonist's journey.
It does not mean hero: a protagonist can be dreadful, and a story following somebody villainous still has one. Strictly there is only one, since the Greek means the first actor, though the word is now used loosely for any leading figure.
1nounprotagonistThe central figure a story follows.
“The protagonist of the novel is a young girl searching for her missing father.”
protagonist is a character.
Also accepted in games: main character
Greek protagonistes means the first actor — protos, first, plus agonistes, a contender.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₂eǵ-
Ancient Greek
πρωταγωνιστής — a chief actor
English, today
protagonist
Built from
From Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (“a chief actor”), from πρῶτος (“first”) + ἀγωνιστής (“a combatant, pleader, actor”). by surface analysis, prot- + agonist.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA