heroine
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also héroïne
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
Via Latin heroina from late Ancient Greek (2nd century) ἡρωΐνη (hêrôḯnê), a feminine equivalent of ἥρως (hếrôs, “hero”) "hero, demigod".
- English from 1650. The sense of "female lead character" is from 1715.
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
heroine (plural heroines)
- A female hero.
- A female lead character.
- 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 2, The Affair at the Novelty Theatre[1]:
- Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.
- 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 2, The Affair at the Novelty Theatre[1]:
Derived terms [edit]
Usage notes [edit]
In the sense 1, it is more common to say hero today.
- She is an American hero.
Translations [edit]
female hero
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