Gender Play

Riddle: There is a word in the English language in which the first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four signify a great man, and the whole word, a great woman. What is the word?

Answer: Heroine.

Source: https://www.riddles.com/233

There is a word in the English language in which the first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four signify a <a href="/best-riddles">great</a> man, and the whole word, a great woman. What is the word? — Gender Play by Anonymous v1.

Riddle: There is a word in the English language in which the first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four signify a <a href="/best-riddles">great</a> man, and the whole word, a great woman. What is the word? Answer: Heroine. — by Anonymous v2.