Hermes

American  

[hur-meez] / ˈhɜr miz /

noun

1. the ancient Greek herald and messenger of the gods and the god of roads, commerce, invention, cunning, and theft.

2. Astronomy. a small asteroid that in 1937 approached within 485,000 miles (780,000 km) of the earth, the closest approach of an asteroid ever observed.

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Hermes ¹ British  

/ ˈhɜːmiːz /

noun

1. a small asteroid some 800 m in diameter that passed within 670 000 kilometres of the earth in 1937, and is now lost

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Hermes ² British  

/ ˈhɜːmiːz /

noun

1. Roman counterpart: Mercury.  Greek myth the messenger and herald of the gods; the divinity of commerce, cunning, theft, travellers, and rascals. He was represented as wearing winged sandals

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Hermes Cultural  

1. The messenger god of classical mythology. He traveled with great swiftness, aided by the wings he wore on his sandals and his cap. Hermes was a son of Zeus and the father of Pan.

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Discover More

The caduceus, the wand of Hermes, is the traditional symbol of physicians. It has wings at the top and serpents twined about the staff.

Example Sentences

The update from Prada echoes comments made earlier this month by sector rivals including Louis Vuitton owner LVMH, Gucci parent Kering and Hermes, who also warned that the war had hurt their results.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

Shares in Parisian handbag doyenne Hermes fell sharply last week after it booked a sales drop the company blamed partly on fewer Middle Eastern travelers splurging in its European boutiques.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Hermes said the Middle Eastern sales drop was notably in the United Arab Emirates, as well as in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

Hermes says half of French sales come from tourists.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

But Perseus had Hermes with him, so that the road lay open to him, and he reached that host of happy people who are always banqueting and holding joyful revelry.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton