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virtue

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also:Virtue

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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FromMiddle Englishvertu,virtue, borrowed fromAnglo-Normanvertu,virtu, fromLatinvirtus(“manliness, bravery, worth, moral excellence”), fromvir(“man”).Doublet ofvertu. Seevirile. In this sense, displacedOld Englishcræft, whenceModern Englishcraft.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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virtue (countable anduncountable,pluralvirtues)

  1. (conceptually):(uncountable) Theidea of all that isgood orexcellent (in every sense of those terms) in a human being,collectivelyinstantiated by a varying number of humantraits known as "the virtues", the enumeration of which vary by the many virtuesystems which have developed within differentcultures,religions, andhistoricalperiods.
  2. (uncountable) Accordance withmoralprinciples;conformity ofbehaviour or thought with the strictures ofmorality; good moral conduct.[from 13th c.]
    Withoutvirtue, there is no freedom.
  3. (countable) Anattribute of apersonality (a "personalitytrait") whichpredisposes aperson tobehaviors resulting inhumangoodness; an admirablequality.
    The commission of acts by a person which he or she believes to be wrong can cause a diminishment of one or more of thevirtues which subsist in the person's personality; in this way such actions may be viewed as significant life events.
    • 1766, Laurence Sterne,Sermon, section XLIV:
      Some men are modest, and seem to take pains to hide theirvirtues; and, from a natural distance and reserve in their tempers, scarce suffer their good qualities to be known[…].
  4. A particularmanifestation of moralexcellence in a person.[from 13th c.]
  5. Specifically, each of several qualities held to be particularly important, including the fourcardinal virtues, the threetheological virtues, or the seven virtues opposed to the seven deadly sins.[from 14th c.]
    • 1813, John Fleetwood,The Life of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ:
      The divinevirtues of truth and equity are the only bands of friendship, the only supports of society.
  6. Aninherentlyadvantageous or excellentquality of something or someone; a favourable point, anadvantage.[from 14th c.]
    • 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe],The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […],→OCLC:
      There were divers other plants, which I had no notion of or understanding about, that might, perhaps, havevirtues of their own, which I could not find out.
    • 2011,The Guardian,Letter, 14 Mar 2011:
      Onevirtue of the present coalition government's attack on access to education could be to reopen the questions raised so pertinently by Robinson in the 1960s[…].
  7. (Christianity) A creature embodying divine power, specifically one of theorders of heavenly beings, traditionally ranked above angels andarchangels, and belowseraphim andcherubim.[from 14th c.]
    • 1667,John Milton, “Book X”, inParadise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […];[a]nd by Robert Boulter […];[a]nd Matthias Walker, […],→OCLC; republished asParadise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […],1873,→OCLC:
      Thrones, Dominations, Princedoms,Virtues, Powers; / For in possession such, not only of right, / I call ye, and declare ye now[…].
  8. (uncountable) Specifically, moral conduct insexual behaviour, especially of women;chastity.[from 17th c.]
    • 1813, Jane Austen,Pride and Prejudice:
      though she did not suppose Lydia to be deliberately engaging in an elopement without the intention of marriage, she had no difficulty in believing that neither hervirtue nor her understanding would preserve her from falling an easy prey.
  9. (obsolete) The inherentpower of agod, or other supernatural being.[13th–19th c.]
  10. The inherentpower orefficacy of something(now only in phrases).[from 13th c.]
    • 1801,Robert Southey, “(please specify the page)”, inThalaba the Destroyer, volume(please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] [F]orT[homas] N[orton] Longman and O[wen] Rees, […], by Biggs and Cottle, […],→OCLC:
      There was avirtue in the wave;
      His limbs, that, stiff with toil,
      Dragg’d heavy, from the copious draught receiv’d
      Lightness and supple strength.
    • 1962,Madeleine L’Engle, “Aunt Beast”, inA Wrinkle in Time, New York, N.Y.:Ariel Books,→OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: Ariel Books, 1973 printing,→ISBN,page189:
      Here are the glasses, Meg. But I am afraid that thevirtue has gone from them, and now they are only glass. Perhaps they were meant to help once and only on Camazotz.
    • 2011 February 17, “The autumn of the patriarchs”, inThe Economist:
      many Egyptians still worry that the Brotherhood,byvirtue of discipline and experience, would hold an unfair advantage if elections were held too soon.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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  • (antonym(s) of“excellence in morals”):vice
  • foible

Derived terms

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Related terms

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Translations

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excellence in morals
a good model quality
chastity and faithfulness
an exemplary quality
in angelology
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Middle English

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Noun

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virtue

  1. alternative form ofvertu
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