Vir

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The term denotes a man or male individual; it can also refer to a hero or warrior in historical or literary contexts; additionally, it represents an adult male of a species when used in biological classification
2. It signifies a masculine person or male human being; it is used to describe a courageous or valiant figure especially in classical antiquity; furthermore, it may indicate an adult male organism in zoological terminology
3. This word describes a male human; it applies to a brave or noble character in ancient narratives; it is also employed to denote a grown male animal in scientific contexts

Etymology: "Vir" is the Latin word for "man" in the sense of a grown male human, and it is also the root of "virile," "virtue," and "virtuoso." Its earliest sense was a mature, adult male, and the Latin idea of manhood carried the connotation of courage and worth, which is why the word came to stand for a valiant figure. The Latin "virtus," meaning manly excellence and later moral goodness, grew directly from this stem, so English "virtue" and "virile" are close relatives of the same word. In English, "vir" appears mostly as a borrowed Latin term, and it is also used in zoology to mark an adult male organism. Its capitalized form, "Vir," is an abbreviation that appears in some reference contexts as a name or label, which is a separate use from the common noun.

Synonyms: man, hero, warrior, brave man, champion

Antonyms: coward, villain