hero

From Middle English heroes, from Old French heroes, from Latin hērōs (“hero”), from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs, “demi-god, hero”), from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to watch over, protect”).^[1][2] Related to Latin servo (“protect”). Displaced Middle English heleð, haleð, from Old English hæleþ, hæle.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ/, [ˈhɪə.ɹəʊ~ˈçɪə.ɹəʊ]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhɪɹ.oʊ/, /ˈhiɹ.oʊ/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈhɛɹ.oʊ/
• Hyphenation: he‧ro
• Rhymes: -ɪəɹəʊ

hero (plural heroes or (sandwich sense) heros)

1. Somebody who possesses great bravery and carries out extraordinary or noble deeds.
   • 1986 August 10, “Cancer victim some kind of hero”, in The Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA:

     "I'm no hero," insists freckle-faced 14-year-old Freddie Hanberry. But to many of the young cancer patients, nurses and staff at University Medical Center here, he is as close as you can get. The "hero" talk began when a national magazine featured Hanberry, who has leukemia, in a special section called "100 New American Heroes."

   • 1993, Susanne Baxandall with Prasuna Reddy, The Courage to Care: The Impact of Cancer on the Family:

     Every cancer victim is a true hero.

   • 2011 September 12, Eileen Faust, “5-year-old Phoenixville cancer victim loses fight”, in The Mercury:

     She is my hero, my heart, my baby till the end of time,” said Gabby's father

   • 2011 September 12, Jen Armstrong, “Sherrill honors heroes of 9/11”, in Oneida Dispatch:

     Each flag represents a hero, Andrews said, whether a first responder or victim of 9/11, active, fallen, or retired military, special friend or family member.

   • 2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 1948, page 43:

     At the time, with the D-Day invasion of Europe going on, their heroism was hardly noticed. Plenty of other heroes were dying elsewhere. Plenty of bigger bits of history were being made.

2. A role model.
3. The protagonist in a work of fiction.
   • 1987, Kamil Zvelebil, Two Tamil Folktales: The Story of King Matan̲akāma, The Story of Peacock Rāvaṇa, →ISBN, page xlii:

     However, even this great hero of the story is somewhat of a simpleton (when he lets himself be crucially deceived by Peacock Ravana in Vibhisana's shape), and a weakling (when in spite of all his strength he is almost beaten by his own son, one of the rākṣasas)

   • 1992, Karuna Shanker Mishra, The Tragic Hero Through the Ages, page 242:

     Satan is wrongly called the hero of Paradise Lost. He is really the villain-hero or the counter-hero

4. (poker) The current player, especially a hypothetical player for example and didactic purposes. Compare: villain (“any opponent player”). Not to be confused with hero call (“a weak call against a supposed bluff”).

   Let's discuss how to play if the hero has KK, and there's an ace on board.

5. (New York) A large sandwich made from meats and cheeses; a hero sandwich.
6. (film, photography, chiefly attributive) The product chosen from several candidates to be photographed, as in food advertising, or with props used in a movie.
   • 2003, Solomon H. Katz, William Woys Weaver, Encyclopedia of Food and Culture:

     The preparation of the hero food involves any number of specialized techniques food stylists have developed to deal with the demands of photographing food.

   • 2008, Linda Bellingham, Jean Ann Bybee, Brad G. Rogers, Food Styling for Photographers, page 8:

     Protect the hero food. Whether the hero items are on a table in the studio or in the refrigerator, freezer, etc., be sure they are identified as hero items and not for consumption.

   • 2008, David Random, Defying Gravity, page 24:

     The food stylists this day had spent inordinate amounts of time preparing the hero product for a close-up scene.

7. (web design) The eye-catching top portion of a web page, sometimes including a hero image; the portion above the fold.

• see Thesaurus:hero
• (sandwich): see sub

• heroine (“hero (female)”)

• → Hindi: हीरो (hīro)
• → Japanese: ヒーロー (hīrō)
• → Korean: 히어로 (hieoro)
• → Thai: ฮีโร่ (hii-rôo)

• kamikaze
• martyr
• shaheed

• rheo-, Roeh, heor, Rohe, hoer, rohe

hero

1. (archaic) Alternative form of her

• “hero” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

hero

1. to love

hero

1. Alternative form of here (“their”)