Where does “superhero” come from?
Superhero is a modern English compound of super- (from Latin super-, meaning "over") and hero (from Latin heros, from Ancient Greek ἥρως, of uncertain origin).
superhero (English): Any kind of fantasy/science fiction...
Definitions
- Any kind of fantasy/science fiction...
Ancestry of “superhero”, step by step
superhero traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English super
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | super | Of excellent quality, superfine; better than... |
| 2 | English | super-ego | Alternative spelling of superego |
| 3 | German | Über-Ich | superego |
| 4 | German | Ich | ego, the Ich; self, me, him, etc |
| 5 | Middle High German | ich | I |
| 6 | Old High German | ih | I |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | ik | I |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | *ek | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | éǵh₂ | I |
via English Hero
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Hero | Any of a number of legendary men and women, including the priestess loved by Leander |
| 2 | Middle English | heroes | — |
| 3 | Old French | heroes | — |
| 4 | Latin | hērōs | demigod, hero |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ἥρως | a hero of the Trojan War: any of the major... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | sēr- | to flow |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ser- | to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together |