protean
See also: Protean
English
WOTD – 22 March 2009
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Πρωτεύς (Prōteús, literally “first”), the Greek warden of sea-beasts, renowned for his ability to change shape.[1]
Pronunciation
Adjective
protean (comparative more protean, superlative most protean)
- Exceedingly variable; readily assuming different shapes or forms.
- Synonyms: multiform, polymorphic, polymorphous, shapeshifting; see also Thesaurus:multiform
- An amoeba is a protean animalcule.
- 1954 February 15, Henry E. Michelson, “The Syndrome of Lupus Erythematosus”, in Modern Medicine, volume 22, number 4, Minneapolis, Minn.: Modern Medicine Publications, Inc., page 96:
- Virus infection of the blood and bone marrow is probably responsible for all forms of the disease. The viral theory of origin accounts for the protean manifestations of the condition.
- 1980, Gershon Legman, The New Limerick:
- […] the word's protean expressiveness has been observed in a xeroxlore item printed in Robert Anton Wilson's Playboy's Book of Forbidden Words […]
- 1987, William A. Henry III, Time Magazine, volume 129:
- He loved to show off his protean talent.
- 2020 October 27, Daphne Merkin, “Shifting the Focus From Sylvia Plath’s Tragic Death to Her Brilliant Life”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- In the intervening decades she has become a protean figure, an emblem of different things to different people, depending upon their viewpoint — a visionary, a victim, a martyr, a feminist icon, a schizophrenic, a virago, a prisoner of gender — or, perhaps, a genius, as both Plath and Hughes maintained during her lifetime.
- Alternative letter-case form of Protean (of or relating to Proteus).
Translations
exceedingly variable
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Noun
protean (plural proteans)
- (biochemistry) A protein that has been slightly modified by water, dilute acid, or enzymes, but not modified to the extent of a metaprotein.
See also
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “protean”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
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