Myth & LegendGreek → English
Protean
/ˈproʊtiən/adjective
Able to change form or role readily, and hard to pin down.
The Greek roots
Πρωτεύς
Prōteús
Proteus, sea god
Literally: “like Proteus”
Follow a root:Πρωτεύς1 word
The story of the word
In the Odyssey Menelaus is told he must ambush Proteus while the old sea god sleeps among the seals, hold on through every shape he takes, lion, serpent, water, tree, and only then will he answer a question. That is the whole force of the word: not merely changeable, but evasive under pressure. The name may come from πρῶτος, first, though the ancients themselves were unsure.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
Same family
proteinprotagonistprotocolprototype
In a sentence
A protean actor, equally convincing as the detective and as the man he was hunting.