protagonist
‘main character in a play, story, or novel’
Lexical development traced from the Tamil root:
Gk. prōtagōnistēs ‘actor who plays the chief or first part’ < prōtos ‘first’ + agōnistēs ‘actor, competitor’ < agōn ‘mass of people brought together (especially to watch the games), a contest or a trial (in general)’ < agein ‘put in motion, move’ < agu < ag- < Tamil ukai