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
| 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 | — |
| 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 |
Words derived from “superhero”