English
antagonize
Antagonize comes from Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνίζομαι ‘to struggle against, prove a match for’, from ᾰ̓́γω ‘to lead’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-1‘to drive’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti1‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ágō1‘to lead, to guide’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓́γω2ắgō‘to lead’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀγών3‘a struggle’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀγωνίζομαι4‘to struggle, exert oneself’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀνταγωνίζομαι4antagōnízomai‘to struggle against, prove a match for’
- Englishtodayantagonize4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄγω
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀγών, which cites Beekes
- 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι
- 4 Wiktionary, English antagonize
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄγω‘to drive’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵetiWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄγω‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ágōWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄγω‘to lead, to guide’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓́γωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀγών, which cites Beekesắgō‘to lead’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀγώνWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι‘a struggle’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀγωνίζομαιWiktionary, English antagonize‘to struggle, exert oneself’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀνταγωνίζομαιWiktionary, English antagonizeantagōnízomai‘to struggle against, prove a match for’
- EnglishtodayantagonizeWiktionary, English antagonize
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’
suggest, register, reaction, actively, essay, transaction, acre, gesture, radioactive, digest, inactive, congestion, retroactive, belligerent, agrarian, unambiguous, progesterone, hyperactivity, ingestion, ingest, gestation, reagent, ambiguously, agitate, samaj, agger, gerund, gestion, 131 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
act, action, active, activity, actual, agency, actor, agent, agenda, activate, ambiguous, squat, ambiguity, assay, agile, agility, radium, actuator, agitation, axiomatic, cogent, actuation, inexact, actuate, exigent, 114 more
through Proto-Hellenic *ágō ‘to lead, to guide’
strategy, axiom, stratagem, glucagon, 26 more
through Ancient Greek ἀγών ‘a struggle’
through Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι ‘to struggle, exert oneself’
Today it means
verb To work against; to oppose (especially to incite a reaction).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “antagonize”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ἄγω, Ancient Greek ἀγών, Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / antagonize