héros

See also: heros

French

Etymology

14th century, borrowed from Latin hērōs, from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs). The aspiration is secondary and originated in the desire to avoid les héros sounding like les zéros. The related words remain unaspirated.

Displaced Middle French heroe, borrowed from the Latin accusative hērōem.

Pronunciation

• ^{(aspirated h)} IPA^(key): /e.ʁo/

• Audio; “le hero”:

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• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Homophones: Héraud, Hérault, héraut

Noun

héros m (invariable, feminine héroïne)

1. hero

   le héros de notre temps ― the hero of our time

   mourir en héros ― to die a hero's death, to die a hero

Related terms

• anti-héros
• héroïne
• héroïque
• héroïsme
• super-héros

Further reading

• “héros”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012