Heroine and Heroin
Greg asked if there was a
connection between heroin and heroine. My
immediate reaction was, that doesn’t sound likely. I was wrong.
Traditionally, a heroine is a
woman who performs courageous and noble deeds. These days, of course, many
people prefer to use the word hero to designate both male and female role
models. Heroin is an addictive narcotic that was compounded and named by a
German drug company in the late 19th century. Some chemist chose the
name heroin because users of the drug often experience an inflated sense of
self, thinking themselves capable of performing heroic deeds.
Both heroine and heroin are
derived from the ancient Greek ἥρως (heros), a person of great strength favored
by the gods. The suffix –ine, signifying “of the nature of” was added to
both, but abbreviated to –in by the German chemist to conform with the
suffix used to designate neutral chemical substances.
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