Hero

He·ro¹ (hîr

)

n. Greek Mythology

A priestess of Aphrodite beloved by Leander.

he·ro (hîr

)

n. pl. he·roes

1. In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods.

2. A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life: soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war.

3. A person noted for special achievement in a particular field: the heroes of medicine. See Synonyms at celebrity.

4. The principal male character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.

5. Chiefly New York City See submarine. See Regional Note at submarine.

[Earlier heroe, back-formation from heroes, heroes, from Latin hrs, pl. of hrs, from Greek; see ser-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: Many writers now consider hero, long restricted to men in the sense "a person noted for courageous action," to be a gender-neutral term. It is used to refer to admired women as well as men in respected publications, as in this quotation from The Washington Post: "Already a national hero in her economically troubled South Korea, . . . [Se Ri] Pak is packing galleries at [golf] tournaments stateside." The word heroine is still useful, however, in referring to the principal female character of a fictional work: Jane Eyre is a well-known literary heroine. Ninety-four percent of Usage Panelists accept this usage.

hero

Noun

pl -roes

1. the principal male character in a novel, play, etc.

2. a man of exceptional courage, nobility, etc.

3. a man who is idealized for having superior qualities in any field [Greek hērōs]

Hero (h

) First century ce.

Greek mathematician who wrote on mechanics and invented many water-driven and steam-driven machines. He also developed a formula for determining the area of a triangle.

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	hero - a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength; "RAF pilots were the heroes of the Battle of Britain" leader - a person who rules or guides or inspires others
	2.	hero - the principal character in a play or movie or novel or poem persona, theatrical role, role, character, part - an actor's portrayal of someone in a play; "she played the part of Desdemona"
	3.	hero - someone who fights for a cause paladin, champion, fighter defender, guardian, protector, shielder - a person who cares for persons or property
	4.	Hero - Greek mathematician and inventor who devised a way to determine the area of a triangle and who described various mechanical devices (first century) Hero of Alexandria, Heron
	5.	hero - (classical mythology) a being of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits; often the offspring of a mortal and a god classical mythology - the system of mythology of the Greeks and Romans together; much of Roman mythology (especially the gods) was borrowed from the Greeks mythical being - an imaginary being of myth or fable
	6.	Hero - (Greek mythology) priestess of Aphrodite who killed herself when her lover Leander drowned while trying to swim the Hellespont to see her Greek mythology - the mythology of the ancient Greeks
	7.	hero - a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States Cuban sandwich, grinder, hero sandwich, hoagie, hoagy, Italian sandwich, poor boy, sub, submarine sandwich, zep, torpedo, wedge, submarine, bomber sandwich - two (or more) slices of bread with a filling between them