virtuous

English

Alternative forms

• vertuous (obsolete)
• vertuus (obsolete)

Etymology

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

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.

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

Synonyms

• good
• righteous

Derived terms

• virtuous circle, virtuous cycle
• virtuousness

Related terms

• virtual
• virtue
• virtuosity

Translations

full of virtue, having excellent moral character

• Armenian: առաքինի (hy) (aṙakʻini)
• Catalan: virtuós (ca)
• Chinese:

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

• Dutch: deugdzaam (nl)
• Esperanto: virta
• French: vertueux (fr) m
• 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) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: probus
• Latvian: tikumīgs, šķīsts
• Maori: tapatahi, ngākaupai
• Navajo: yáʼátʼéehii
• Old High German: chiusce
• Portuguese: virtuoso (pt) m, nobre (pt) m or f, digno (pt) m
• Romanian: virtuos (ro)
• Russian: доброде́тельный (ru) (dobrodételʹnyj), целому́дренный (ru) (celomúdrennyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: vrli (sh)
• Spanish: virtuoso (es)
• Swedish: dygdig (sv), dygdesam
• Turkish: erdemli (tr), faziletli (tr)

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.

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Middle English

Adjective

virtuous

1. Alternative form of vertuous