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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 20/08/2022 13:23, Julian Bradfield
wrote:<br>
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<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:slrntg1khe.2kus1.jcb@high.jcbradfield.org">
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">I have no axe to grind in this intra-Hellenic debate, but may I ask the
two protagonists whether they view the current American practice of both
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">
Come, come: you mean "the protagonist and deuteragonist" !
</pre>
</blockquote>
<p>Sir, I can only adduce the OED in my humble defence —</p>
<p>
<blockquote type="cite"><span id="etymologySpanBlock2" style="">Plural
use in sense <a class="crossReferencePopup"
rev="/view/Entry/153105#eid27932954" rel="153105"
href="https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/153105?redirectedFrom=protagonist#eid27932954"><span
class="xref"> 1</span></a> with reference to characters in
a single work has frequently been criticized on the grounds
that the word referred only to a single actor in the ancient
Greek drama (compare <a class="crossReferencePopup"
rev="/view/Entry/51374#eid6846546" rel="51374"
href="https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/51374#eid6846546"><span
class="xref"><span class="smallCaps">deuteragonist</span>
<span class="ps">n.</span></span></a> and <a
class="crossReferencePopup cancelled"
rev="/view/Entry/206439#eid17609956" rel="206439"
href="https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/206439#eid17609956"
id="c80"><span class="xref"><span class="smallCaps">tritagonist</span>
<span class="ps">n.</span></span></a>), but it is
nonetheless frequently found (compare e.g. quot. <a
class="crossReferencePopup cancelled"
rev="/view/Entry/153105#eid27932997" rel="153105"
href="https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/153105?redirectedFrom=protagonist#eid27932997"
id="c77"><span class="xref">1950 at sense 1</span></a>).</span></blockquote>
<br>
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