Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “hero” come from?

Hero comes from Old French heroes, derived from Latin heros, which comes from Ancient Greek ἥρως, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ser-.

hero (English): Somebody who possesses great bravery and carries...

Definitions

  1. Somebody who possesses great bravery and carries...

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”

  • heroic
  • heroically
  • superhero
  • unheroic
  • heroical
  • antihero
  • heroick
  • antiheroic
  • superheroic
  • mockheroic
  • heroization
  • nonheroic
  • unheroically
  • heroize
  • postheroic
  • superheroism
  • heroship
  • antiheroism
  • nonhero
  • heroicly
  • heroless
  • herohood
  • superherodom
  • heroicness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ser- →