Etymologically
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héros

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.ʁo/[1]

Forms

héros m (invariable, feminine héroïne)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin hērōs (“demigod; man of great valour”),[2][3][4][5][6] from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs).[2][1] The Greek word first meant “chief”, the title of the leaders at Troy such as Odysseus and Agamemnon, probably a term of respect; it later took the religious sense “demigod; man raised to the rank of a demigod after his death”.[3][5] It displaced Middle French heroe, from the Latin accusative hērōem.[1] The feminine héroïne is a separate borrowing, from hērōīnē.[2][3][4]

The initial ⟨h⟩ is aspirated, unlike in the feminine and in héroïque: the hiatus was introduced so that “les héros” would not sound like “les zéros”, which became possible once zéro entered the language in the 15th century.[2][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nicole Oresme's translation of Aristotle's Politics (1372–74) introduces it in the mythological sense “demigod”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The glorification of feats of arms took the word out of religion: Ronsard (1555) uses herôs for a man of great worth, and, from there it came to mean anyone admired for courage or genius (être le héros de quelqu'un).[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg date the figurative sense to the 17th century.[4] The idea of a man above the common run led to “principal character of a literary work” (Scarron, 1651), whence un héros de roman for someone who has lived through extraordinary adventures (1671), le héros de la fête (1734) and le héros du jour (1874, Mallarmé).[2][3] In the 20th century it spread to film, comics and television, and antihéros (1940) names a protagonist who lacks the traditional hero's qualities.[3]

Timeline

  • 1361 – First date given by the Grand Robert.[5]
  • 1372–74 – Heroes “demigods”, Oresme.[2]
  • 1554 – Héroïne “principal female character”, Ronsard.[2]
  • 1555 – Herôs “man of great worth”, Ronsard.[2]
  • 1651 – “Principal character”, Scarron's Roman comique.[2]
  • 1658 – The derivative héroïsme.[4]
  • 1874 – Le héros du jour, Mallarmé.[3]
  • 1940 – Antihéros.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (mythology) A demigod; a legendary figure credited with great courage and exploits.[7][2]
  2. A man who distinguishes himself by feats or extraordinary courage, especially in war: mourir en héros.[7]
  3. A person admired for his qualities or deeds, le héros du jour, the man of the moment.[3][7]
  4. The principal character of a novel, play, film or story; the protagonist.[3][7]

Word family

  • héroïsme
  • antihéros
  • superhéros
  • héroïne
  • héroïque

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 416b
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert