Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Hero” come from?

Hero comes from Ancient Greek Ἡρώ, a figure from Greek mythology whose original meaning remains uncertain.

Ancestry of “Hero”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishheroes—
2Old Frenchheroes—
3Latinhērōs—
4Ancient Greekἥρωςa hero of the Trojan War: any of the major...
5Proto-Indo-Europeansēr-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanser-to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together

Words derived from “Hero”

  • Heronian
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ser- →