"Accidental", since the Greek [Greek: ag[^o]nist[^e]s]
has different meanings in the two words, in one "combatant", but
in the other "play-actor". The Greek [Greek: pr[^o]tag[^o]nist[^e]s]
means the actor who takes the chief part in a play--a sense readily
admitting of figurative application to the most conspicuous personage
in any affair. The deuteragonist and tritagonist take parts of second
and third importance, and to talk of several protagonists, or of a
chief protagonist or the like, is an absurdity. In the newspapers
it is a rarity to meet _protagonist_ in a legitimate sense; but two
examples of it are put first in the following collection. All the
others are outrages on this learned-sounding word, because some of
them distinguish between chief protagonists and others who are not
chief, some state or imply that there are more protagonists than one
in an affair, and the rest use _protagonist_ as a mere synonym for
advocate.
'Legitimate uses: _The "cher Hal['e]vy" who is the protagonist of the
amazing dialogue. / Marco Landi, the protagonist and narrator of a
story which is skilfully contrived and excellently told, is a fairly
familiar type of soldier of fortune._
'Absurd uses with _chief_, &c.: _The chief protagonist is a young
Nonconformist minister. / Unlike a number of the leading protagonists
in the Home Rule fight, Sir Edward Carson was not in Parliament
when.
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