heros
Pronunciation
Forms
hērōs m (genitive hērōis); third declension[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs, “hero, demigod”).[2][3][1][4] It keeps Greek inflection, with genitive ⟨hērōos⟩ or ⟨hērōis⟩ and accusative plural ⟨hērōas⟩.[2][1][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler dates it from Cato.[4] The OLD's earliest quotation is Cicero on imitating the ancient misfortunes of heroes in speeches.[2]
Semantic evolution
It is a mythical hero or demigod, as Virgil's child who will see heroes mingled with the gods, and his great-souled heroes in the underworld.[2][5] Cicero applies it to a man of heroic qualities, calling Cato “our hero”, and in Persius it seems to be used as an adjective, heroic.[2][1]
In medieval Latin it took the sense lord or baron under the influence of the Frankish word ⟨hero⟩ “lord”, and also saint, especially a martyr.[6]
Timeline
- 234–149 BC – First recorded in Cato.[4]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero of the misfortunes of heroes and of Cato as a hero.[2][4]
- 70–19 BC – Virgil of heroes among the gods.[5][4]
- 34–62 AD – Persius of heroic feelings.[2][4]
Meanings
Noun
- A demigod, mythical hero.[2][5][1]
- A man of heroic qualities, an illustrious man.[2][1]
- (Medieval Latin) A lord, baron.[6]
- (Medieval Latin) A saint, especially a martyr.[6]
Related words
- hērōicē
- hērōicus
- hērōīna
- hērōis
- hērōus
- sēmideus
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
- ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill