pro.tag.o.nist
n.（名词）The main character in a drama or other literary work.主角：戏剧或其他文学作品中的主要人物In ancient Greek drama, the first actor to engage in dialogue with the chorus, in later dramas playing the main character and some minor characters as well.古希腊戏剧中的演员：在古希腊戏剧中第一个与合唱团对白的演员，在后来的戏剧中扮演主要角色及一些不重要的角色
A leading or principal figure.重要人物：主要或首要的人物The leader of a cause; a champion.领导者：一项事业的领导；拥护者Usage Problem A proponent; an advocate.【用法疑难】 建议者；提倡者
来源：Greek prôtagônistôs 希腊语 prôtagônistôs prôto- [proto-] prôto- [前缀，表.最初的，首要的.] agônistôs [actor, combatant] from agônizesthai [to contend] from agônia [contest] from agôn from agein [to drive, lead] * see ag- agônistôs [演员，战斗者] 源自 agônizesthai [竞争] 源自 agônia [竞赛] 源自 agôn 源自 agein [驱使，领导] *参见 ag-
Theprotagonist of a Greek drama was its leading actor, of whom there could be but one in any play.This is an etymological nicety that many modern writers continue to observe when using the word to refer to the main character of a drama or other fiction.Thus when the members of the Usage Panel were asked .How many protagonists are there inOthello ô. the great majority answered .One.and offered substitutes such asantagonist, villain, principal, and deuteragonist to describe Desdemona and Iago. But there is reputable precedent from the 7th century on for usingprotagonist to mean simply .important actor. or .principal party,.with no implication of uniqueness,as inThere are three protagonists in this sluggish novel. Smith and Jones were the protagonists in the struggle over the future of the computer company. Thus, while some writers may prefer to confine the word to a singular sense in their own usage,it is pedantic to insist that the looser use is incorrect. ·The use ofprotagonist to refer to a proponent has become common only in the 20th century and may have been influenced by a misconception that the first syllable of the word represents the prefixpro-, .favoring.. In sentences such asHe was an early protagonist of nuclear power, this use is likely to strike many readers as an errorand can usually be replaced byadvocate or proponent with no loss of sense.希腊戏剧的protagnist 是主角， 且在任何戏剧中仅有一个主角。许多现代作家在用这个词时都注意使它指代戏剧或其他小说的主要人物，因此当用法专题小组成员被问及.在奥赛罗 里有几个主要人物ô.时， 大部分人回答.一个.，而且用如antagonist、villain、principal 和 deuteragonist 等词来描述苔丝德蒙娜和雅各。 但是从十七进纪开始，有一个使用protagonist 的规范惯例， 仅表示.重要的演员.或.首要的政党.，而丝毫没有独一无二的暗示，象在句子在这部文风拖沓的小说中有三个人物。 史密斯和琼斯是为计算公司的未来而奋斗的主角中一样。 因此，当某些作家可能在他们自己的用法中偏于把这个词限制在一个简单的含义中时，仍强调自由用法不正确就是卖弄学问的了。用protagonist 来指代建议者或支持者仅在20世纪开始变得常见， 而且被对于代表意为.支持的.前缀pro- 的该词第一个音节的误解所影响。 在句子他是核武力的早期支持者 中， 这种用法可能会使读者认为是个错误，而且常被advocate 或 proponent 所替代， 同时也不会有任何意思的遗漏
