heroine

heroine · noun¹

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromἡρωΐνη
2. Latin · borrowed fromhērōīna
3. English todayheroine

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.

heroine · adjective²

Partly from the noun and partly from hero + -ine (suffix forming adjectives).