virtue
pronunciation
How to pronounce virtue in British English:
UK [ˈvɜːtʃuː]
How to pronounce virtue in American English:
US [ˈvɜːrtʃuː]
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- Noun:
- the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong
- any admirable quality or attribute
- morality with respect to sexual relations
- a particular moral excellence
Word Origin
- virtue
- virtue: [13] Latin virtūs ‘bravery, strength, capacity, skill, merit’ was derived from vir ‘man’ (source also of English virago ‘manlike woman’ [14] and virile [15]), and so etymologically it denoted ‘manliness’. It passed into English via Old French vertu. Derivatives include virtual [14] which, preserving another semantic aspect of its source, originally meant ‘having power, in effect’, but by the 17th century had evolved into its modern sense ‘so in effect or in essence’; and virtuoso [17], which was borrowed from Italian and goes back to the ancestral sense ‘skill’.=> virago, virile, virtual, virtuoso
- virtue (n.)
- c. 1200, vertu, "moral life and conduct; a particular moral excellence," from Anglo-French and Old French vertu "force, strength, vigor; moral strength; qualities, abilities" (10c. in Old French), from Latin virtutem (nominative virtus) "moral strength, high character, goodness; manliness; valor, bravery, courage (in war); excellence, worth," from vir "man" (see virile). For my part I honour with the name of virtue the habit of acting in a way troublesome to oneself and useful to others. [Stendhal "de l'Amour," 1822] Especially (in women) "chastity, sexual purity" from 1590s. Phrase by virtue of (early 13c.) preserves alternative Middle English sense of "efficacy." Wyclif Bible has virtue where KJV uses power. The seven cardinal virtues (early 14c.) were divided into the natural (justice, prudence, temperance, fortitude) and the theological (hope, faith, charity). To make a virtue of a necessity (late 14c.) translates Latin facere de necessitate virtutem [Jerome].
Synonym
strength merit excellence efficacy dint value efficaciousness productivity cogency effect might force energy power potency validity effectiveness drive
incorruption continence virginity guiltlessness purity sinlessness abstinence impeccability chasteness celibacy chastity innocence modesty immaculacy cleanness spotlessness
justness goodness fidelity piety incorruptability scrupulousness loyalty honesty nobility principle rectitude faith responsibility worth moral trustworthiness Christian constancy quality grace respectability worthiness values uprightness character merit ethic faithfulness high-mindedness morality decency excellence honor probity integrity righteousness fairness equity
Example
- 1. That old virtue of experience may be undervalued here .
- 2. The virtue of recycling has been appreciated for centuries .
- 3. Isn 't the virtue we have been expecting for ?
- 4. The exploration of inner life is my other favorite virtue .
- 5. This achievement rests partly on a virtue not previously associated with russian governments : strict macroeconomic management .