heroism
nounUK /ˈhɛɹəʊɪzəm/ · US /ˈhɛɹoʊɪzəm/
Etymology From French héroïsme, equivalent to hero + -ism.
1
The qualities characteristic of a hero, such as courage, bravery, fortitude, selflessness, etc.; the display of such qualities.
- He does all sorts of cool shit, and he subtly rediscovers his own heroism without making a big thing out of it. But he’s a supporting character, and he knows it.2017 December 1, Tom Breihan, “Mad Max: Fury Road might already be the best action movie ever made”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2022:
- At the time, with the D-Day invasion of Europe going on, their heroism was hardly noticed. Plenty of other heroes were dying elsewhere. Plenty of bigger bits of history were being made.2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 1948, page 43: