heroine

C1 Topic:Entertainment & Leisure

US /ˈhɪɹoʊɪn/ UK /ˈhɛɹəʊɪn/ See IPA manual

Freq #9724

Meanings

1

noun
The main female character in a story, film, or play.

The heroine of the novel risks everything to save her family.
2

noun
A woman admired for her courage or great achievements.

She became a national heroine after rescuing the drowning children.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

herashero

Word family

Forms heroines

Derived forms anti-heroineantiheroineheroinelyheroineshipheroinicheroinismheroinizesuperheroine

Etymology

From Latin hērōīna, from late Ancient Greek ἡρωΐνη (hērōḯnē) (2nd century), a feminine equivalent of ἥρως (hḗrōs, “hero, demigod”), equivalent to hero + -ine (suffix forming feminine nouns). * English from 1587. The sense of "female lead character" is from 1715.

*ser- (guard) Proto-Indo-European hērōīna Latin ἡρωΐνη Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Entertainment & Leisure

External links

# heroine

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈhɪɹoʊɪn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈhɛɹəʊɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 9724

## Meanings
1. The main female character in a story, film, or play.
2. A woman admired for her courage or great achievements.

## Examples
- The heroine of the novel risks everything to save her family.
- She became a national heroine after rescuing the drowning children.

## Synonyms
- hera
- shero

## Derived Forms
- anti-heroine
- antiheroine
- heroinely
- heroineship
- heroinic
- heroinism
- heroinize
- superheroine

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ser- (guard)
- Root: hērōīna
- Root: ἡρωΐνη

## Etymology
From Latin hērōīna, from late Ancient Greek ἡρωΐνη (hērōḯnē) (2nd century), a feminine equivalent of ἥρως (hḗrōs, “hero, demigod”), equivalent to hero + -ine (suffix forming feminine nouns). * English from 1587. The sense of "female lead character" is from 1715.

## AI Etymology
Heroine is from Latin hērōīna, from late Ancient Greek ἡρωΐνη (hērōḯnē) (2nd century), a feminine equivalent of ἥρως (hḗrōs, “hero, demigod”), equivalent to hero + -ine (suffix forming feminine nouns).; English from 1587. The sense of "female lead character" is from 1715. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. In present-day use, it can mean the main female character in a story, film, or play, or a woman admired for her courage or great achievements. Derived formations include anti-heroine, antiheroine, heroinely, heroineship, heroinic.

## Topics
- Entertainment & Leisure

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