Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Heracles” come from?

Heracles derives from Ancient Greek Ἡρακλῆς, a compound of ἥρως (hero) and κλέος (glory), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱlew- meaning to hear or be famous.

Ancestry of “Heracles”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient GreekἩρακλῆςHeracles
2Ancient Greek-κλῆςAn element found in given names
3Ancient Greek-κλέης—
4Ancient Greekκλέοςrumour, report; good report, fame, glory; bad...
5Proto-Hellenickléwosfame
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱléwosfame
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱlew-to hear
8Proto-Indo-Europeanḱel-to cover; to incline
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- →