erou

Forms

erou m (plural eroi, feminine equivalent eroină)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French héros.^[2][3][4][1] DELR and DEX also name Latin hērōs as a source, and DELR names Italian eroe too.^[5][3] Ciorănescu derives it from French, with the final ⟨-ou⟩ as in ecou.^[2] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs, “lord, hero”), at first in Homer a military leader or nobleman.^[5] Its further origin is uncertain;^[1] Beekes thinks it probably Pre-Greek.^[1]

The old forms came by other routes.^[5] The variants irou, iroas and iroi are from Greek, the learned and Modern Greek ήρωας (íroas) with its accusative.^[5] Tiktin and MDA2 also name Old Church Slavonic ирои (iroi).^[6][4] The variant eroe follows the Italian word, and the rare gheroi Russian.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Bucharest Bible of 1688 has the plural in „Cetatea iroilor” “the city of the heroes” (Genesis 46:28).^[6] DELR's first record is irou in the Foletul novei of 1694, in the mythological sense; the form erou appears in Petru Maior in 1818.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The mythological sense came first: a demigod, born of a god and a mortal.^[5][7] In 1848 Negulici gave three senses, the demigod, a brave man and the main character of a story.^[8] The word then took on the sense of a soldier fallen in battle and of anyone who shows courage or self-sacrifice in hard times or at work.^[3][4] Colloquially it is the main figure of an incident or an adventure.^[5]

The family followed the same routes.^[5] Iroicesc “heroic” is in Dosoftei in 1686, iroină “heroine” in Văcărescu in 1794 and iroizm “heroism” in 1795, all with the Greek i-; the forms with e- came with the Latin, French and Italian models of the early 19th century.^[5]

Timeline

• 1686 – iroicesc “heroic” in Dosoftei.^[5]
• 1688 – iroilor “of the heroes” in the Bucharest Bible.^[6]
• 1694 – irou, a mythological hero, in the Foletul novei.^[5]
• 1794 – iroină “heroine” in Văcărescu's history.^[5]
• 1800–1812 – eroe in Budai-Deleanu.^[5]
• 1818 – the form erou in Petru Maior.^[5]
• 1848 – Negulici lists erou “demigod; brave man; main character”.^[8]
• 1956 – antierou “antihero”.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who stands out for bravery and exceptional courage in war, or for self-sacrifice in other hard circumstances or at work; also a soldier fallen in battle.^[3][4]
2. The main character of a literary work; also the central figure of an event, someone who draws attention.^[3][5]
3. (Greco-Roman mythology) A demigod, born of a god and a mortal, endowed with superhuman powers or famous for great deeds.^[3][9]

Word family

• antierou
• dezeroiza
• eroic
• eroicește
• eroicomic
• eroifica
• eroină
• eroism
• eroiza

Related words

• Latin hērōs

Usage notes

The feminine is eroină.^[1][5] Old texts also have eroe, heroi, iroas, iroiu and irou.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. erou
3. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 359
4. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 828
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. erou
6. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. erou
7. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. erou
8. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. erou
9. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. erou