# heroine

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhɪɹoʊɪn/ · frequency rank #14,337

## Definitions
1. A female hero.
2. A female lead character.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **heron** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heroine-vs-heron)
- **herring** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heroine-vs-herring)
- **heroism** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heroine-vs-heroism)
- **Heine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heine-vs-heroine)
- **heroin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heroin-vs-heroine)
- **heroic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heroic-vs-heroine)
- **herein** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/herein-vs-heroine)
- **Herbie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/herbie-vs-heroine)
- **herding** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/herding-vs-heroine)
- **heroics** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heroics-vs-heroine)
- **Hermione** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hermione-vs-heroine)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ehroine`, `heorine`, `herione`, `heroien`, `heroinne`, `heronie`, `herroine`, `hheroine`, `hreoine`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/heroine