Heroines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A female character admired for her courage and noble qualities
2. a protagonist in a literary work who exemplifies bravery and virtue
3. a woman who plays a central role in a story by overcoming challenges and difficulties

Etymology: "Heroines" is the plural of "heroine," and the singular has an odd history: its feminine ending was originally a Greek-style grammatical trick that made a female hero out of a male one. In ancient Greek, "hḗrōs" meant "hero" or "demigod," and the feminine "hērōḯnē," formed by adding the suffix "-ine," appeared by the 2nd century CE. The Latin "hērōīna" carried it into Europe, and English adopted the word from 1587. The word's meaning shifted over time. Early English uses kept close to the original idea of a woman of heroic stature or courage, but from 1715 it also came to mean the female lead character in a story. That second sense is why the plural now mostly describes brave women in fiction rather than in epic or legend.

Synonyms: heroines, champions, saviors, defenders, leading ladies

Antonyms: villains, antagonists, oppressors, enemies, fools