virtuous

English

Alternative forms

• vertuous (obsolete)
• vertuus (obsolete)
• virtuose (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English vertuous, borrowed from Anglo-Norman vertuous, vertous, ultimately from Late Latin virtuōsus, from Latin virtūs. Doublet of virtuoso.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈvɜːt͡ʃʊəs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈvɝt͡ʃuəs/

• Audio (GA):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: vir‧tu‧ous

Adjective

virtuous (comparative more virtuous, superlative most virtuous)

1. Full of virtue; having excellent moral character.

   Synonyms: good, righteous, (obsolete) virtual

   Successful communities need strong, selfless leaders and a virtuous people.

   • 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 171:

     Her virtuous, pale-blue, saucerlike eyes flooded with leviathan tears on unexpected occasions and made Yossarian mad.

Derived terms

• virtuous circle, virtuous cycle
• virtuous couch
• virtuousness
• pseudovirtuous

Related terms

• virtual
• virtue
• virtuosity

Translations

full of virtue; having excellent moral character

• Arabic: فَاضِل (fāḍil)
• Armenian: առաքինի (hy) (aṙakʻini)
• Belarusian: дабрадзе́йны (dabradzjéjny), цно́тлівы (cnótlivy), цно́тны (cnótny)
• Bengali: নেক (bn) (nek), ফাজেল (fazel)
• Bulgarian: доброде́телен (bg) (dobrodételen), целомъ́дрен (bg) (celomǎ́dren)
• Catalan: virtuós (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 有道德的 (yǒu dàodé de), 有德行的 (yǒu déxíng de), 貞／贞 (zh) (zhēn)

• Czech: ctnostný
• Danish: dydig
• Dutch: deugdzaam (nl)
• Esperanto: virta (eo)
• French: vertueux (fr)
• Galician: virtuoso
• Georgian: სათნო (satno), უმანკო (umanḳo), უმწიკვლო (umc̣iḳvlo)
• German: züchtig (de), tugendhaft (de), tugendsam (de)
• Greek: ηθικός (el) (ithikós), ενάρετος (el) (enáretos)

  Ancient: ἐνάρετος (enáretos)

• Ido: vertuoza (io)
• Italian: virtuoso (it)
• Latin: probus
• Latvian: tikumīgs, šķīsts
• Macedonian: доброде́телен (dobrodételen), до́блестен (dóblesten)
• Maori: tapatahi, ngākaupai
• Navajo: yáʼátʼéehii
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: dydig

• Occitan: virtuós
• Old High German: chiusce
• Plautdietsch: sitlich
• Polish: cnotliwy (pl)
• Portuguese: virtuoso (pt), nobre (pt), digno (pt)
• Romanian: virtuos (ro)
• Russian: доброде́тельный (ru) (dobrodételʹnyj), целому́дренный (ru) (celomúdrennyj)
• Sanskrit: गुणज्ञ (sa) (guṇajña)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: вр̏лӣ

  Roman: vȑlī (sh)

• Slovak: cnostný
• Slovene: čednosten
• Spanish: virtuoso (es)
• Swedish: dygdig (sv), dygdesam (sv)
• Turkish: erdemli (tr), faziletli (tr)
• Ukrainian: доброче́сний (dobročésnyj), цнотли́вий (uk) (cnotlývyj), чеснотли́вий (česnotlývyj)

Further reading

• “virtuous”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “virtuous”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Middle English

Adjective

virtuous

1. Alternative form of vertuous