Protagoras

American  

[proh-tag-er-uhs] / proʊˈtæg ər əs /

noun

1. c480–c421 b.c., Greek Sophist philosopher.

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Protagoras British  

/ prəʊˈtæɡəˌræs /

noun

1. ?485–?411 _bc , Greek philosopher and sophist, famous for his dictum "Man is the measure of all things."

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Other Word Forms

• Protagorean adjective
• Protagoreanism noun

Example Sentences

Mr. Stuttard is impressed by Pericles’ association with intellectuals such as Protagoras, who claimed that “man is the measure of all things.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Indeed, one of the most prominent Sophists, Protagoras, is a main character in the dialogue that bears his name.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

You know, it goes back to Plato’s Protagoras.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 28, 2019

At one particularly erudite confrontation, the movie director Michelangelo Antonioni is pitted against an unprepossessing old woman; still another requires the group’s mysterious leader, known as the Great Protagoras, to face an upstart challenger.

From Washington Post • Aug. 22, 2017

Anaxagoras, Protagoras, and of course Socrates were hauled up on charges of heresy and impiety.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro