HERO • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Hero

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/hˈɪroʊ/ Listen

noun

Hero n. (pl. heroes)

(Myth.) An illustrious man, supposed to be exalted, after death, to a place among the gods; a demigod, as Hercules.

A man of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering; a prominent or central personage in any remarkable action or event; hence, a great or illustrious person. "Each man is a hero and oracle to somebody."

The principal personage in a poem, story, and the like, or the person who has the principal share in the transactions related; as Achilles in the Iliad, Ulysses in the Odyssey, and Aeneas in the Aeneid. "The shining quality of an epic hero."

Hero worship, extravagant admiration for great men, likened to the ancient worship of heroes. 1 "Hero worship exists, has existed, and will forever exist, universally among mankind."

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Etymology of 'Hero'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Hero" Quotes from Famous Books

... "See the conquering hero comes", sounded through the avenue of elms as Tom dashed forward with the merry, merry pack. "I shall stay on the hills", said one, "and be ready for him as he comes back; I took a good deal of the shine out of my horse in coming up this time". "I think I will do the same", said two or three ...

— Jorrocks' Jaunts and Jollities • Robert Smith Surtees

... the country was with "the hero of New Orleans" in this affair, whose gallant defense of that city had cast a gleam of glory upon the close of a long and apparently fruitless war. Some of her people subscribed the money to reimburse to him the amount ...

— The American Judiciary • Simeon E. Baldwin, LLD

... the dead. In mimic order, a boy slew a monster at Delphi, ran along the road to Tempe, represented on the way the bondage of the god in Hades, and returned, purified, bringing a branch of laurel from the sacred valley.15 The doctrine of a future life connected with the legend of some hero who had died, descended into the under world, and again risen to life, this doctrine, dramatically represented in the personal experience of the initiate, was the heart of every one of the secret religious ...

— The Destiny of the Soul - A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life • William Rounseville Alger

... occasion of his life. At Lyons the populace crowded the streets to cheer him, and delegations from the chief towns of his native island met him to solicit for each of their respective cities the honor of his landing. On July fourteenth, 1790, after twenty-one years of exile, the now aged hero set foot on Corsican land at Maginajo, near Capo Corso. His first act was to kneel and kiss the soil. The nearest town was Bastia, the revolutionary capital. There and elsewhere the rejoicings were general, and the ceremonies were such as ...

— The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte - Vol. I. (of IV.) • William Milligan Sloane

... answered our hero with a laugh, and then, a little saddened by his farewell, and pondering rather solemnly on what lay before him—the dangers of travel as well as those of the head-hunters—Tom hastened ...

— Tom Swift in the City of Gold, or, Marvelous Adventures Underground • Victor Appleton

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