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

Louis brokered the sale of Amiri clothes and Hermes bags from Lam to Ben, who bought the luxuries on credit and never paid him, Louis testified.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

An international team that includes University of Arkansas archaeologist Taylor Hermes identified the first evidence of Bronze Age plague in a nonhuman host.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026

John Sidawi, a senior portfolio manager at Federated Hermes, said this mismatch shows investors still want to hold U.S. assets but have grown less comfortable with the added risk of holding the currency.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

He’s accused of using money from a Hyde Park-based homelessness program to buy Hermes clothing, vacations and homes in Westwood and Greece.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2026

Meantime Hermes had gone to carry Zeus’s command to Calypso.

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