English
hero
Hero comes from Middle English heroes, from Old French heroes, from Latin hērōs, from Greek ἥρως ‘demigod, hero’, of uncertain origin.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἥρωςhḗrōs‘demi-god’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhērōs
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400heroes
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heroes
- Englishearliest quotation 1986hero
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἥρωςhḗrōs‘demi-god’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhērōs
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400heroes
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heroes
- Englishearliest quotation 1986hero
Earliest quotation: 1986, Cancer victim some kind of hero: “I'm no hero," insists freckle-faced 14-year-old Freddie Hanberry. But…”
The story
From Middle English heroes, from Old French heroes, from Latin hērōs (‘hero’), from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs, “demi-god, hero”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (‘to watch over, protect’); if so, related to Latin servo (‘protect’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ser- ‘to watch over, protect’
service, series, sort, stream, serve, conservative, desert, insert, reservoir, assertion, sermon, conservatism, exert, assertive, concierge, sorcery, sorcerer, observant, servitude, heresy, sark, heretic, conservator, strudel, servile, serf, sere, 34 more
Today it means
noun Somebody who possesses great bravery and carries out extraordinary or noble deeds.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek ἥρως / hero