<B>heroic, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>like a hero, his deeds, or his qualities; very brave; great; noble. <BR> <I>Ex. the heroic deeds of our firemen.</I> <DD><B> 2a. </B>of or about heroes and their deeds; epic. <BR> <I>Ex. The "lliad" and the "Odyssey" are heroic poems.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>resembling the language or style of heroic poetry. <BR> <I>Ex. heroic prose.</I> <DD><B> 3a. </B>unusually daring or bold. <BR> <I>Ex. The lifeguard's heroic efforts saved the drowning child.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>using extreme means to get a necessary result, especially by employing extraordinary medical procedures to keep a patient alive. <BR> <I>Ex. For a terminal patient, however, these so-called "heroic" measures can be viewed as simply prolonging the dying process (Paul Galloway)</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>unusually large; larger than life size. <BR> <I>Ex. a heroic statue.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a heroic poem. <BR><I>expr. <B>heroics,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>words, feelings, or actions that seem grand or noble but are only for effect. </I> <I>Ex. He stopped his heroics only when he saw that they were laughing at him.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>high-sounding language. <BR> <I>Ex. Women, it is said, ... cannot write moderately. They are always in hysterics or heroics (John Skelton).</I> <DD><B> c. </B><B>=heroic verse.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. When he was but ... a freshman in Cambridge he ... sent his accounts to his father in ... heroics (Thomas Nashe).</I> adv. <B>heroically.</B> noun <B>heroicalness.</B> noun <B>heroicness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="heroicage">
<B>heroic age,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the time when the famous heroes of a nation or folk are supposed to have lived. <BR> <I>Ex. the heroic age of Greece.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="heroical">
<B>heroical, </B>adjective. <B>=heroic.</B></DL>
<A NAME="heroiccouplet">
<B>heroic couplet,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> two successive lines of poetry in iambic pentameter that rhyme together. </DL>
<A NAME="heroicdrama">
<B>heroic drama,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a type of English drama of the late 1600's, heavily written in heroic couplets. </DL>
<A NAME="heroictenor">
<B>heroic tenor,</B> <B>=dramatic tenor.</B></DL>
<A NAME="heroictragedy">
<B>heroic tragedy,</B> <B>=heroic drama.</B></DL>
<A NAME="heroicverse">
<B>heroic verse,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a poetic form used in heroic and other long poems. In English, German, and Italian, it is iambic pentameter. In French it is the Alexandrine. In Greek and Latin it is dactylic hexameter. (Example in English:) "Why on those shores are we with joy surveyed, Admired as heroes, and as gods obeyed." </DL>
<A NAME="heroin">
<B>heroin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a very dangerous, habitforming drug, made from morphine. <BR> <I>Ex. The U.S. government forbids the manufacture, importation, and use of heroin, but many people obtain it illegally (Donald J. Wolk).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="heroine">
<B>heroine, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a girl or woman admired for her bravery, great deeds, or noble qualities; female hero. <BR> <I>Ex. Boadicea, a queen of ancient Britain, was a heroine when she led a revolt against the Romans. Florence Nightingale was a heroine during the Crimean War when she nursed the wounded.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the most important female person in a story, play, or poem. <BR> <I>Ex. Take Lilia, then, for heroine ... And make her some great princess (Tennyson).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Greek Legend.) a girl or woman of more than Human qualities, favored by the gods. noun <B>heroineship.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="heroinism">
<B>heroinism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the condition or position of a heroine. </DL>
<A NAME="heroism">
<B>heroism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the actions and qualities of a hero or heroine; great bravery; daring; courage. <BR> <I>Ex. Heroism feels and never reasons and therefore is always right (Emerson).</I> (SYN) valor, gallantry, intrepidity. <DD><B> 2. </B>a very brave act or quality; doing something noble at great cost to oneself. <BR> <I>Ex. His heroism in saving the drowning boy from the river was praised in the newspapers.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="heroize">
<B>heroize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to make a hero of; treat as a hero. noun <B>heroization.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="heron">
<B>heron, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a wading bird like a crane with a long neck, a long bill, long legs, and a short tail. Herons feed on fish, frogs, etc. Egrets and bitterns are herons. </DL>
<A NAME="heronry">
<B>heronry, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a place where herons come annually in large numbers and build their nests. </DL>
<A NAME="heronsbill">
<B>heron's-bill, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of low herbs of the geranium family, growing in temperate regions, and cultivated in flower gardens or for forage, such as the alfilaria. </DL>
<A NAME="heronsew">
<B>heronsew</B> or <B>heronsewe, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic or Dialect.) a heron, especially a small or young one. Also, <B>hernshaw.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="herosandwich">
<B>hero sandwich,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a whole loaf of Italian or French bread sliced in half and filled with meat, cheese, or other filling. </DL>
<A NAME="heroworship">
<B>hero worship,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the idolizing of individuals or their memory, especially of persons accepted as heroes. <BR> <I>Ex. Most cases of hero worship ... have a positive value in the development of the rapidly changing boy or girl (Sidonie M. Gruenberg).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the worship of deified heroes in ancient Greece and Rome. </DL>
<A NAME="heroworship">
<B>hero-worship, </B>transitive verb, <B>-shiped,</B> <B>-shiping</B> or (especially British) <B>-shipped,</B> <B>-shipping.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to worship as a hero; idolize. <BR> <I>Ex. In his twilight years he is beguiled by an aggressive young lady who hero-worships him (New York Times).</I> noun <B>hero-worshiper.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="herpangina">
<B>herpangina, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a virus disease of children characterized by a sore, ulcerated throat. </DL>
<A NAME="herpes">
<B>herpes, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various virus diseases causing spreading blisterlike blotches on the skin or mucous membrane, such as shingles and cold sores. </DL>
<A NAME="herpesfacialis">
<B>herpes facialis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> cold sores on the face. </DL>
<A NAME="herpeslabialis">
<B>herpes labialis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> cold sores on the lips. </DL>
<A NAME="herpessimplex">
<B>herpes simplex,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> cold sores on the body, face, or lips. </DL>
<A NAME="herpesvirus">
<B>herpesvirus, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of viruses which contain DNA and are sensitive to ether, including the viruses causing herpes and chicken pox. </DL>
<A NAME="herpeszoster">
<B>herpes zoster, =shingles.</B></DL>
<A NAME="herpetarium">
<B>herpetarium, </B>noun, pl. <B>-iums,</B> <B>-ia.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an enclosure, building, or facility for the keeping and display of reptiles or amphibians. </DL>
<A NAME="herpetic">
<B>herpetic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with or like herpes. </DL>
<A NAME="herpetoid">
<B>herpetoid, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having the form of a reptile; reptilelike. </DL>
<B>herrengrundite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a basic hydrous sulfate of calcium and copper, occurring in green tabular crystals. </DL>
<A NAME="herrenvolk">
<B>Herrenvolk, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (German.) the master race; (in Nazi Germany) the Germans. </DL>
<A NAME="herring">
<B>herring, </B>noun, pl. <B>-rings</B> or (collectively) <B>-ring.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of various small food fishes of the North Atlantic and North Pacific. Herring are bony fish that have spineless fins, the ventral fins back of the pectorals, no fleshy fin back of the dorsal fin, and no scales on the head. The grown fish are eaten fresh, salted, or smoked, and the young are canned as sardines or sold in tins as whitebait. <DD><B> 2. </B>any fish of the clupeid family, including the herring, sardine, and shad. </DL>
<A NAME="herringbone">
<B>herringbone, </B>adjective, noun, verb, <B>-boned,</B> <B>-boning.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> having a zigzag pattern or arrangement like the spine of a herring. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>a zigzag pattern, arrangement, or stitch. <DD><B> b. </B>a fabric having such a pattern, especially a fabric with a twill weave. <DD><B> 2. </B>the spine of a herring. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Skiing.) a type of ascent made by walking with the skis at an angle to each other and the outer edges turned up. The tracks form a herringbone pattern. <DD><I>v.t., v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to embroider or sew with a herringbone stitch; make a herringbone pattern. <BR> <I>Ex. In sheets assembled from narrow widths of linen and among pillows, too, one may note traces of elaborate herringboning (London Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Skiing.) to ascend by use of a herringbone. </DL>
<A NAME="herringbonestitch">
<B>herringbone stitch,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an embroidery stitch consisting of crosses in a herringbone design. It is used also to fasten down the hems on thick material. </DL>
<A NAME="herringgull">
<B>herring gull,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large, gray-and-white gull of northern regions, common around Atlantic and Pacific ports, and sometimes seen on inland waters. </DL>
<A NAME="herringpond">
<B>herring pond,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the sea; ocean (a humorous use). </DL>
<A NAME="herringrake">
<B>herring rake,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a long pole with a jagged point, used by American Indians of the Northwest to catch herring. </DL>
<B>hers, </B>pronoun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Possessive form of) <B>she.</B> the one or ones belonging to her. <BR> <I>Ex. This money is hers. Your answers are wrong; hers are right.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>of hers,</B> </I>belonging to her. <BR> <I>Ex. A friend of hers called and left a message.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="herse">
<B>herse, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Obsolete.) a troop formation used in battle. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Heraldry.) a bearing showing a portcullis or a harrow. </DL>
