Heroine

Pronunciation

• Homophones: heroin

Origin

Via Latin heroina from late Ancient Greek (2nd century) ἡρωΐνη, a feminine equivalent of ἥρως ("hero") "hero, demigod".

• English from 1650. The sense of "female lead character" is from 1715.

Full definition of heroine

Noun

1. A female hero.
2. A female lead character.
• 1905, w, w:The Case of Miss Elliott Chapter 2, 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.

Synonyms

• shero

Hypernyms

• hero

Derived terms

• superheroine

Usage notes

In the sense 1, it is more common to say hero today.

She is an American hero.