virtue

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vir·tue

(vûr′cho͞o)

a. Moral excellence and righteousness; goodness.

b. An example or kind of moral excellence: the virtue of patience.

2. Archaic Chastity, especially in a woman.

3. A particularly efficacious, good, or beneficial quality; advantage: a plan with the virtue of being practical.

4. Effective force or power: believed in the virtue of prayer.

5. virtues Christianity The fifth of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.

6. Obsolete Manly courage; valor.

Idiom:

by/in virtue of

On the grounds or basis of; by reason of: well-off by virtue of a large inheritance.

[Middle English vertu, from Old French, from Latin virtūs, manliness, excellence, goodness, from vir, man; see wī-ro- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

virtue

(ˈvɜːtjuː; -tʃuː)

1. the quality or practice of moral excellence or righteousness

2. a particular moral excellence: the virtue of tolerance.

3. (Theology) any of the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) or theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity)

4. any admirable quality, feature, or trait

5. chastity, esp in women

6. archaic an effective, active, or inherent power or force

7. by virtue of in virtue of on account of or by reason of

8. make a virtue of necessity to acquiesce in doing something unpleasant with a show of grace because one must do it in any case

[C13: vertu, from Old French, from Latin virtūs manliness, courage, from vir man]

ˈvirtueless adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

vir•tue

(ˈvɜr tʃu)

n.

1. conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; moral excellence; rectitude.

2. a particular moral excellence.

3. chastity; virginity: to lose one's virtue.

4. a good or admirable quality or property.

5. effective force; power or potency.

6. virtues, an order of angels. Compare angel (def. 1).

7. manly excellence; valor.

Idioms:

1. by or in virtue of, by reason of; because of.

2. make a virtue of necessity, to make the best of a difficult or unsatisfactory situation.

[1175–1225; vertu < Old French < Latin virtūtem, acc. of virtūs desirable male qualities, worth, virtue =vir man (seen virile) + -tūs abstract n. suffix]

syn: See goodness.

Virtue

See Also: ACCOMPLISHMENT, MORALITY, PURITY

Admirable as the rabbit that lets a tortoise win the race —Mike Sommer
Chaste as ice —William Shakespeare
Chastity consists, like an onion, of a series of coats —Nathaniel Hawthorne
Good as a mother —Vicki Baum
Hanging on to his virtue like a thief to his loot —Paige Mitchell
Like gentle streams beneath our feet innocence and virtue meet —William Blake
See Also: INNOCENCE
Many individuals have, like uncut diamonds, shining qualities beneath a rough exterior —Juvenal
Piety is like garlic. A little goes a long way —Rita Mae Brown
Rare virtues are like rare plants or animals, things that have not been able to hold their own in the world —Samuel Butler
Butler’s comparison continues as follows: “A virtue to be serviceable must, like gold, be alloyed with some commoner but more durable metal.”
Rich in virtue, like an infant —Lao Tzu
True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes —Lord Halifax
Virginal as Eve before she knew Adam —Anon
Virgins are bores … like people with overpriced houses —Thomas McGuane
Virtue and learning, like gold, have their intrinsic value; but if they are not polished, they certainly lose a great deal of their luster; and even polished brass will pass upon more people than rough gold —Lord Chesterfield
See Also: EDUCATION
Virtue is a kind of health, beauty and good habit of the soul —Plato
A virtue is like a city set upon a hill, it cannot be hid —Robert Hichens
Virtue is like an enemy avoided —Dante Alighieri
Virtue is like a polar star, which keeps its place, and all stars turn towards it —Confucius
Virtue is like a rich stone, best plain set —Francis Bacon
Virtue is like health: the harmony of the whole man —Thomas Carlyle
Virtue is like precious odors —most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed —Francis Bacon
Virtue lies like the gold in quartz; there is not very much of it and much pain has to be spent on the extracting of it —Jerome K. Jerome
Virtue, like a strong and hardy plant, takes root in any place, if she finds there a generous nature and a spirit that shuns no labor —Plutarch
Virtues, like essences, lose their fragrance when exposed —William Shenstone
Virtuous as convict in the death house —H. L. Mencken

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	virtue - the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong moral excellence, virtuousness good, goodness - moral excellence or admirableness; "there is much good to be found in people"
	2.	virtue - any admirable quality or attribute; "work of great merit" merit worth - the quality that renders something desirable or valuable or useful
	3.	virtue - morality with respect to sexual relations sexual morality, chastity morality - concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong; right or good conduct pureness, purity, honor, honour - a woman's virtue or chastity
	4.	virtue - a particular moral excellence cardinal virtue - one of the seven preeminent virtues good, goodness - moral excellence or admirableness; "there is much good to be found in people"

virtue

noun

1. goodness, honour, integrity, worth, dignity, excellence, morality, honesty, decency, respectability, nobility, righteousness, propriety, probity, rectitude, worthiness, high-mindedness, incorruptibility, uprightness, virtuousness, ethicalness His mother was held up to the family as a paragon of virtue.
goodness vice, evil, corruption, sin, dishonesty, depravity, immorality, dishonour, debauchery, sinfulness, turpitude

2. merit, strength, asset, plus (informal), attribute, good quality, good point, strong point His chief virtue is patience.
merit failing, drawback, shortcoming, frailty, weak point

3. advantage, benefit, merit, credit, usefulness, efficacy There is no virtue in overexercising.

4. chastity, honour, virginity, innocence, purity, maidenhood, chasteness His many attempts on her virtue were all unavailing.
chastity promiscuity, unchastity

by virtue of because of, in view of, on account of, based on, thanks to, as a result of, owing to, by reason of, by dint of Mr Olaechea has British residency by virtue of his marriage.

Quotations
"Virtue is the fount whence honour springs" [Christopher Marlowe Tamburlaine the Great]
"Virtue is its own reward" [Cicero De Finibus]
"Virtue is like a rich stone, best plain set" [Francis Bacon Essays]
"For 'tis some virtue, virtue to commend" [William Congreve]
"Virtue could see to do what Virtue would"
"By her own radiant light, though sun and moon"
"Were in the flat sea sunk" [John Milton Comus]
"Against the threats"
"Of malice or of sorcery, or that power"
"Which erring men call chance, this I hold firm,"
"Virtue may be assailed, but never hurt,"
"Surprised by unjust force, but not enthralled" [John Milton Comus]
"It is queer how it is always one's virtues and not one's vices that precipitate one into disaster" [Rebecca West There Is No Conversation]
"The weakest of all weak things is a virtue which has not been tested in the fire" [Mark Twain The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

virtue

noun

1. The quality or state of being morally sound:

good, goodness, morality, probity, rectitude, righteousness, rightness, uprightness, virtuousness.

2. The condition of being chaste:

chastity, decency, innocence, modesty, purity, virginity, virtuousness.

3. A special feature or quality that confers superiority:

beauty, distinction, excellence, merit, perfection.

4. A level of superiority that is usually high:

caliber, merit, quality, stature, value, worth.

Translations

عِفَّه، طَهارَهفَضيلَهميزَه حَسَنَه

ctnostpoctivostvýhoda

dydfordelgod egenskab

Tugend Vorzug Rechtschaffenheit

αρετή

virtud

avuetuhallitushyve

vertu avantage

erényerkölcsi tisztaság

dyggîkosturverîleiki, kostur

virtù virtuosamente virtuoso a causa di ...merito

dorybėdorybingas

laba rakstura īpašībalabs raksturslabumspriekšrocībatikums

deugd

dyd

virtude

добродетель достоинство

cnosť

vrlina

dygd

erdem fazilethasletmeziyetüstünlük avantaj

优点德行美德

virtue

[ˈvɜːtjuː] N

1. (= good quality) → virtud f
to extol sb's virtues → alabar or ensalzar las virtudes de algn
to make a virtue of necessity → hacer de la necesidad virtud

2. (= advantage) → virtud f, ventaja f
it has the virtue of simplicity or of being simple → tiene la virtud or ventaja de ser sencillo
I see no virtue in (doing) that → no veo ninguna ventaja en (hacer) eso

3. (= chastity) → castidad f, honra f
her virtue was in no danger → su castidad or honra no corría peligro
he had designs on her virtue → iba a tratar de seducirla
a woman of easy virtue → una mujer de vida alegre, una mujer de moralidad laxa

4. by virtue of; in virtue of → en virtud de, debido a

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

virtue

[ˈvɜː^rtʃuː ˈvɜː^rtjuː] n

(= goodness) → vertu f

(= good quality) → vertu f
Humility is considered a virtue → L'humilité est considérée comme une vertu.

(= advantage) → vertu f

by virtue of sth → en vertu de qch

virtue

(= moral quality) → Tugend f; to make a virtue of necessity → aus der Not eine Tugend machen; a life of virtue → ein tugendhaftes Leben

(= chastity) → Keuschheit f, → Tugendhaftigkeit f; a woman of easy virtue (euph) → ein leichtes Mädchen

(= advantage, point) → Vorteil m; what’s the virtue of that? → welchen Vorteil hat das?, wozu ist das gut?; there is no virtue in doing that → es scheint nicht sehr zweckmäßig, das zu tun

(= healing power) → Heilkraft f; in or by virtue of → aufgrund or auf Grund (+gen); in or by virtue of the authority/power etc vested in me → kraft meiner Autorität/Macht etc (form)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

virtue

[ˈvɜːtjuː] n (goodness) → virtù f inv; (advantage) → pregio, vantaggio
it has the virtue of simplicity or of being simple → ha il pregio di essere semplice
I see no virtue in doing that → non vedo nessun vantaggio nel farlo
to make a virtue of necessity → fare di necessità virtù
by virtue of → in virtù di, grazie a

virtue

(ˈvəːtʃuː) noun

1. a good moral quality. Honesty is a virtue.

2. a good quality. The house is small, but it has the virtue of being easy to clean.

3. goodness of character etc. She is a person of great virtue.

ˈvirtuous adjective

morally good. She is a virtuous young woman.

ˈvirtuously adverb

ˈvirtuousness noun

References in classic literature ?

It is evident then that in the due government of a family, greater attention should be paid to the several members of it and their virtues than to the possessions or riches of it; and greater to the freemen than the slaves: but here some one may doubt whether there is any other virtue in a slave than his organic services, and of higher estimation than these, as temperance, fortitude, justice, and such-like habits, or whether they possess only bodily qualities: each side of the question has its difficulties; for if they possess these virtues, wherein do they differ from freemen?

but it is not a man's; and as a child is incomplete, it is evident that his virtue is not to be referred to himself in his present situation, but to that in which he will be complete, and his preceptor.

View in context

This Dialogue begins abruptly with a question of Meno, who asks, 'whether virtue can be taught.' Socrates replies that he does not as yet know what virtue is, and has never known anyone who did.

Now that Meno has been made to understand the nature of a general definition, he answers in the spirit of a Greek gentleman, and in the words of a poet, 'that virtue is to delight in things honourable, and to have the power of getting them.' This is a nearer approximation than he has yet made to a complete definition, and, regarded as a piece of proverbial or popular morality, is not far from the truth.

View in context

For those who have some specific habit may be said also, in virtue of that habit, to be thus or thus disposed; but those who are disposed in some specific way have not in all cases the corresponding habit.

Another sort of quality is that in virtue of which, for example, we call men good boxers or runners, or healthy or sickly: in fact it includes all those terms which refer to inborn capacity or incapacity.

View in context

"By purifying and regenerating our members we try, thirdly, to improve the whole human race, offering it in our members an example of piety and virtue, and thereby try with all our might to combat the evil which sways the world.

"In the seventh place, try, by the frequent thought of death," the Rhetor said, "to bring yourself to regard it not as a dreaded foe, but as a friend that frees the soul grown weary in the labors of virtue from this distressful life, and leads it to its place of recompense and peace."

View in context

People commended unto Zarathustra a wise man, as one who could discourse well about sleep and virtue: greatly was he honoured and rewarded for it, and all the youths sat before his chair.

View in context

The virtue of prosperity, is temperance; the virtue of adversity, is fortitude; which in morals is the more heroical virtue.

View in context

You see the fault becomes a virtue when it is hers, the treason prospers; wherefore, no doubt, the impossibility of imagining it.

View in context

I might be contented with this, and yet my vanity will add a third to the number; and him one of the greatest and noblest, not only in his rank, but in every public and private virtue. But here, whilst my gratitude for the princely benefactions of the Duke of Bedford bursts from my heart, you must forgive my reminding you that it was you who first recommended me to the notice of my benefactor.