heroine

[her-oh-in] /ˈhɛr oʊ ɪn/
noun
1.
a woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for her brave deeds and noble qualities.
2.
the principal female character in a story, play, film, etc.
Origin
1650-60; < Latin hērōīnē < Greek hērōī́nē, feminine of hḗrōs hero; see -ine2
Related forms
superheroine, noun
Can be confused
heroin, heroine.
Examples from the web for heroine
  • She's a prototypical heroine of her day because her life had to revolve around her relationships and her family.
  • Each time his heroine gets near her prey, he eludes her at the last moment.
  • Even the heroine of my novel was slated to go there after her college days ended.
  • True to the novel, our heroine is dead from the outset.
  • The heroine is a post-office worker processing registered mail.
  • But offscreen she did not see herself as a tragic heroine.
  • It was the suffragists, on the lookout for a folk heroine, who rediscovered her.
  • Scientific studies suggest that nicotine addiction may be more powerful than heroine addiction.
  • Nothing in her relation to the kitchen offers the slightest hint that she has learned anything at all from her heroine.
  • The second part of the poem, connected rather loosely with the first, is a praise of the heroine in the typical manner.
British Dictionary definitions for heroine

heroine

/ˈhɛrəʊɪn/
noun
1.
a woman possessing heroic qualities
2.
a woman idealized for possessing superior qualities
3.
the main female character in a novel, play, film, etc
Word Origin and History for heroine
n.

1650s, from Latin heroine, heroina (plural heroinae) "a female hero, a demigoddess" (e.g. Medea), from Greek heroine, fem. of heros (see hero (n.1)). As "principal female character" in a drama or poem, from 1715.