Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Hero
He′ro
(hē′rō̍)
, Noun.
pl.
Heroes
(hē′rōz)
. [F.
héros
, L. heros
, Gr. ἤρως
.] 1.
(Myth.)
An illustrious man, supposed to be exalted, after death, to a place among the gods; a demigod, as Hercules.
2.
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. Emerson.
3.
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
. Dryden.
Hero worship
, extravagant admiration for great men, likened to the ancient worship of heroes.
Hero worship
exists, has existed, and will forever exist, universally among mankind. Carlyle.
Webster 1828 Edition
Hero
HE'RO
,Noun.
1.
A man of distinguished valor, intrepidity or enterprise in danger; as a hero in arms.2.
A great, illustrious or extraordinary person; as a hero in learning. [Little used.]3.
In a poem, or romance, the principal personage, 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.4.
In pagan mythology, a hero was an illustrious person, mortal indeed, but supposed by the populace to partake of immortality, and after his death to be placed among the gods.