Revised 2014 More entries for "hero"
heronoun
Factsheet
What does the noun hero mean?
There are six meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun hero. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
hero has developed meanings and uses in subjects including
How common is the noun hero?
About 30occurrences per million words in modern written English
| 1750 | 19 |
| 1760 | 33 |
| 1770 | 42 |
| 1780 | 43 |
| 1790 | 38 |
| 1800 | 45 |
| 1810 | 37 |
| 1820 | 40 |
| 1830 | 32 |
| 1840 | 32 |
| 1850 | 35 |
| 1860 | 36 |
| 1870 | 36 |
| 1880 | 39 |
| 1890 | 41 |
| 1900 | 38 |
| 1910 | 33 |
| 1920 | 34 |
| 1930 | 34 |
| 1940 | 32 |
| 1950 | 33 |
| 1960 | 36 |
| 1970 | 34 |
| 1980 | 30 |
| 1990 | 29 |
| 2000 | 30 |
| 2010 | 30 |
How is the noun hero pronounced?
British English
/ˈhɪərəʊ/
HEER-oh
U.S. English
/ˈhɪroʊ/
HEER-oh
/ˈhiroʊ/
HEER-oh
Where does the noun hero come from?
Earliest known use
early 1500s
The earliest known use of the noun hero is in the early 1500s.
OED's earliest evidence for hero is from before 1522, in a translation by Gavin Douglas, poet and bishop of Dunkeld.
hero is a borrowing from Latin.
Etymons: Latin hērōs, hērōēs.
Nearby entries
- hernia, n.c1386–
- hernial, adj.1738–
- herniary, adj.1753–
- herniated, adj.1879–
- herniation, n.1897–
- hernio-, comb. form
- herniotome, n.1876–
- herniotomist, n.1897–
- herniotomy, n.1811–
- hernious, adj.1398–1623
- hero, n.a1522–
- hero, v.1762–
- heroarchy, n.1841–
- Herod, n.c1405–
- Herodian, n.¹ & adj.Old English–
- herodian, n.²1609–1897
- Herodian disease, n.1597–
- Herodotean, adj.1748–
- heroed, adj.a1649–
- hero-errant, n.a1774–
- Heroes' Day, n.1893–
Etymology
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Meaning & use
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Pronunciation
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Forms
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Frequency
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Compounds & derived words
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Entry history for hero, n.
hero, n. was revised in March 2014.
hero, n. was last modified in December 2023.
oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:
- further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
- new senses, phrases, and quotations.
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into hero, n. in December 2023.
Earlier versions of this entry were published in:
OED First Edition (1898)
OED Second Edition (1989)
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Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .
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Citation details
Factsheet for hero, n.
Browse entry
Nearby entries
- hernia, n.c1386–
- hernial, adj.1738–
- herniary, adj.1753–
- herniated, adj.1879–
- herniation, n.1897–
- hernio-, comb. form
- herniotome, n.1876–
- herniotomist, n.1897–
- herniotomy, n.1811–
- hernious, adj.1398–1623
- hero, n.a1522–
- hero, v.1762–
- heroarchy, n.1841–
- Herod, n.c1405–
- Herodian, n.¹ & adj.Old English–
- herodian, n.²1609–1897
- Herodian disease, n.1597–
- Herodotean, adj.1748–
- heroed, adj.a1649–
- hero-errant, n.a1774–
- Heroes' Day, n.1893–
