ethics

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French ethique, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl]  ethica, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek ἠθική (ēthikḗ), from ἠθικός (ēthikós, “of or for morals, moral, expressing character”), from ἦθος (êthos, “character, moral nature”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛθ.ɪks/

Noun

ethics (countable and uncountable, plural ethics)

1. (philosophy) The study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.
2. Morality.
3. The standards that govern the conduct of a person, especially a member of a profession.

Usage notes

• Although the terms ethics and morality are often used interchangeably, philosophical ethicists sometimes distinguish them, using ethics to refer to theories and conceptual studies relating to good and evil and right and wrong, and using morality and its related terms to refer to actual, real-world beliefs and practices concerning proper conduct. In this vein, the American philosopher Brand Blanshard wrote concerning his friend, the eminent British ethicist G. E. Moore: "We often discussed ethics, but seldom morals. . . . He was a master in ethical theory, but did not conceive himself as specially qualified to pass opinions on politics or social issues."

Synonyms

• moral philosophy

Derived terms

Terms derived from ethics

• applied ethics
• bioethics
• business ethics
• comparative ethics
• descriptive ethics
• environmental ethics

• ethicist
• medical ethics
• metaethics
• normative ethics
• situational ethics

Related terms

• ethic
• ethical
• ethos

Translations

study of principles governing right and wrong conduct

• Afrikaans: etiek
• Arabic: عِلْم اَلْأَخْلَاق m (ʕilm al-ʔaḵlāq)
• Armenian: բարոյագիտություն (hy) (baroyagitutʻyun)
• Belarusian: э́тыка f (étyka)
• Bengali: নৈতিকতা (nōitikota)
• Bulgarian: е́тика (bg) f (étika)
• Catalan: ètica (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 倫理學／伦理学 (zh) (lúnlǐxué), 伦理学 (zh) (lúnlǐxué)

• Czech: etika (cs) f
• Danish: etik c
• Dutch: zedenkunde (nl) f, ethiek (nl) f
• Estonian: eetika
• Faroese: siðalæra f, siðafrøði f
• Finnish: etiikka (fi)
• French: éthique (fr) f
• Georgian: ეთიკა (etiḳa)
• German: Ethik (de) f
• Greek: ηθική (el) m (ithikí)
• Hungarian: etika (hu), erkölcstan (hu)
• Indonesian: etika (id)
• Irish: eitic f
• Italian: etica (it) f
• Japanese: 倫理学 (ja) (りんりがく, rinrigaku)
• Kazakh: этика (kk) (étika)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Khmer: សីលវិជ្ជា (km) (sey lak vijjea)
• Korean: 윤리학 (yunnihak) (倫理學 (ko))
• Latvian: ētika f
• Malay: etika (ms)
• Maori: matatika
• Mongolian: этик (etik)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: etikk (no) m

  Nynorsk: etikk m

• Persian: فلسفه اخلاق (falsafe-ye axlâq), علم اخلاق ('elm-e axlâq), اصول اخلاق (osul-e axlâq)
• Polish: etyka (pl) f
• Portuguese: ética (pt) f
• Russian: э́тика (ru) f (étika)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: етика f

  Roman: etika (sh) f

• Slovak: etika (sk)
• Spanish: ética (es) f
• Tagalog: palaasalan, dalub-asalan, dalubasalan, asalan
• Tajik: илми ахлоқ (ilmi axloq), одоб (tg) (odob)
• Thai: จริยธรรม (jà-rí-yá-tam), จริยศาสตร์ (jà-rí-yá-sàat)
• Turkish: etik (tr)
• Ukrainian: е́тика f (étyka)
• Vietnamese: luân lý học (vi) (倫理學)
• Yiddish: עטיק f (etik)

standards of conduct

• Afrikaans: eties
• Arabic: أَخْلَاق (ʔaḵlāq), أَدَب (ar) m (ʔadab)
• Armenian: էթիկա (hy) (ētʻika)
• Belarusian: э́тыка f (étyka)
• Bulgarian: е́тика (bg) f (étika)
• Catalan: ètica (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 倫理／伦理 (zh) (lúnlǐ), 伦理 (zh) (lúnlǐ), 道德 (zh) (dàodé)

• Czech: etika (cs) f
• Dutch: zedenkunde (nl) f, ethiek (nl) f
• Finnish: etiikka (fi), moraali (fi)
• French: éthique (fr) f
• German: Verhaltenskodex (de) m, Ethik (de) f
• Hebrew: אתיקה (ehtikoh)
• Irish: eitic f
• Italian: etica (it) f
• Japanese: 倫理 (ja) (りんり, rinri)
• Khmer: អភិសមារចារ (ak phi sak mar jar)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: 윤리 (yunni) (倫理 (ko))
• Latvian: ētika f
• Maori: matatika, tikanga matatika
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: etikk (no) m

  Nynorsk: etikk m

• Persian: اخلاق (fa) (axlâq), ادب (fa) (adab)
• Portuguese: ética (pt) f
• Russian: э́тика (ru) f (étika)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: етика f

  Roman: etika (sh) f

• Slovak: etika (sk)
• Spanish: ética (es) f
• Tagalog: kaasalan, asalan
• Tajik: одоб (tg) (odob)
• Ukrainian: е́тика f (étyka)
• Vietnamese: luân lý (vi) (倫理)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} etiko
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

See also

• aretaics

Further reading

• “ethics”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• cishet, itches, theics, tiches