'hero-worship' is a compound of 'hero' and 'worship'. 'Hero' comes from Greek 'hērōs' via Latin and Old French, and 'worship' comes from Old English 'weorþscipe' meaning 'worthiness, honor'.

'hero-worship' became used in modern English as a compound noun and verb; the phrase and concept were notably popularized in the 19th century (e.g., Thomas Carlyle's 1841 work 'On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History').

Initially it meant the act of paying honor or reverence to a heroic figure; over time it acquired the more critical sense of excessive or uncritical admiration.