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

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 and Gucci-owner Kering fell 12% and 9.3%, respectively, as earnings disappointed investors.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 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 reported 5.6% sales growth in the first quarter, below analyst expectations of sales growth closer to 7%.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

Perseus did just as Hermes had said, he held back until he saw one of them take the eye out of her forehead.

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