Helen
[hel-uh n]
- 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.
- a female given name.
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Origin of Helen
< 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Helen
- Greek myth the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda, whose abduction by Paris from her husband Menelaus caused the Trojan War
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for helen of troy
Helen
fem. proper name, from French Hélène, from Latin Helena, from Greek Helene, fem. proper name, probably fem. of helenos "the bright one." Among the top 10 popular names for girl babies in the U.S. born between 1890 and 1934.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Helen of Troy
In classical mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world, a daughter of Zeus by Leda. Her abduction by Paris led to the Trojan War (see also Trojan War). Helen's was “the face that launched a thousand ships”: the entire Greek army sailed to Troy to get her back. (See Judgment of Paris.)
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.