Helen

[ hel-uhn ]

noun

1. Also called Helen of Troy. Classical Mythology. the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda and wife of Menelaus whose abduction by Paris was the cause of the Trojan War.
2. a female given name.

Helen

/ ˈhɛlɪn /

noun

1. Greek myth the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda, whose abduction by Paris from her husband Menelaus caused the Trojan War

Word History and Origins

Origin of Helen¹

< French Hélène < Latin Helena < Greek Helénē, of obscure origin, probably the name of a pre-Greek vegetation goddess; often linked by folk etymology with helénē, helánē torch, St. Elmo's fire, an unrelated word

Example Sentences

Families of the crash victims filed federal suits against the estate of Knopp and his widow, Helen, as well as the companies that owned the charter plane and the estate of the charter pilot.

From ProPublica

Helen and I get henna on our hands—burgundy traces of ink on the front and back of palms, at Dilli Haat in Delhi, and rummage through old books at Khan market.

From Washington Blade

Helen’s Famous Sausage House in Smyrna is the rare — possibly only — Delaware restaurant to have been featured in the late Gourmet magazine.

From Washington Post

Helen and Philip arrived on Sunday, and on Monday the tour began with a day trip.

From Eater

Helen needed to do research for a magazine article she’d long wanted to write.

From Eater

And will this become four, if Cole and Helen have theirs added too?

From The Daily Beast

In The Affair, “the others” are the existing partners and even the children that Noah and Helen have, much-loved as they are.

From The Daily Beast

Why did Helen stop kissing her but continue kissing her sons after Bechdel was 7?

From The Daily Beast

It took Helen 10 years “to come around” to Bechdel being gay.

From The Daily Beast

Helen jumps, and her mother backs away, letting her fall to the ground.

From The Daily Beast

When she came to she was in her father's arms, the men had gone, and bending over her was Helen Osborne, bathing her face.

From Project Gutenberg

He had a daughter, Helen, about the age of Grace, and the two became inseparable friends.

From Project Gutenberg

Miss Scovill was away, so Helen left her a note of explanation, telling everything in detail.

From Project Gutenberg

This was the opinion of all the ancients; it has been asserted that Helen was seventy when she was carried off by Paris.

From Project Gutenberg

Helen Ervin's life in a private school for girls at San Francisco had been uneventful until her graduation.

From Project Gutenberg