Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Hero

Hero (hē"ro) , noun

[French héros, Latin heros, Greek "h`rws.]

1.
(Mythology) 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 exists, has existed, and will forever exist, universally among mankind. — Carlyle
Collocations (1)
Hero worship , extravagant admiration for great men, likened to the ancient worship of heroes.