Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “antagonist” come from?

Antagonist comes from Latin antagonista, from Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνιστής, derived from the verb ἀνταγωνίζεσθαι meaning to struggle against, from ἀγών meaning struggle or contest.

antagonist (English): An opponent or enemy; One who antagonizes or...

Definitions

  1. An opponent or enemy; One who antagonizes or...

Ancestry of “antagonist”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinantagonista—
2Ancient Greekἀνταγωνιστήςopponent
3Ancient Greekἀνταγωνίζομαι—
4Ancient Greekἀγωνίζομαιto contend, compete
5Ancient Greek-ίζωUsed to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and...
6Proto-Hellenic-íďďō—
7Proto-Indo-European-idyéti—
8Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
10Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “antagonist”

  • antagonistic
  • antagonistically
  • nonantagonistic
  • unantagonistic
  • unantagonistically
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