Where does “heroism” come from?
Heroism derives from French héroïsme, combining French heros (from Latin hērōs, from Ancient Greek ἥρως) with the suffix -isme, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European ser- and -mós.
heroism (English): The qualities characteristic of a hero, such as...
Definitions
- The qualities characteristic of a hero, such as...
Ancestry of “heroism”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | héroïsme | heroism |
| 2 | French | -ïsme | -ism, variant of -isme following vowels |
| 3 | Latin | -isma | Alternative form of -ismus; -ism |
| 4 | Latin | -ismus | -ism |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ισμός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -μός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -mós | Creates action/result nouns from verb stems |