virtu
pronunciation
How to pronounce virtu in British English:
UK [vɜ:'tu:]
How to pronounce virtu in American English:
US [vɜ'tu]
-
- Noun:
- love of or taste for fine objects of art
- artistic quality
- objet d'art collectively (especially fine antiques)
Word Origin
- virtu (n.)
- "excellence in an object of art, passion for works of art," 1722, from Italian virtu "excellence," from Latin virtutem (nominative virtus) "virtue, goodness, manliness" (see virtue). The same word as virtue, borrowed during a period when everything Italian was in vogue. Sometimes spelled vertu, as though from French, but this sense of the word is not in French.
Example
- 1. The love of countri is the first virtu in a civil man .
- 2. China is a nation that is proud of the virtu of filial piety .