different between virtue vs ability

English

Alternative forms

• vertu, vertuu (obsolete), vertue (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English vertu, virtue, borrowed from Anglo-Norman vertu, virtu, from Latin virtus (“manliness, bravery, worth, moral excellence”), from vir (“man”). Doublet of vertu. See virile.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?v??t?u?/, /-tju?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?v?t?u/
• Hyphenation: vir?tue

Noun

virtue (countable and uncountable, plural virtues)

1. (uncountable) Accordance with moral principles; conformity of behaviour or thought with the strictures of morality; good moral conduct. [from 13th c.]
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, XV.1:

     There are a set of religious, or rather moral, writers, who teach that virtue is the certain road to happiness, and vice to misery, in this world.
2. A particular manifestation of moral excellence in a person; an admirable quality. [from 13th c.]
   • 1766, Laurence Sterne, Sermon XLIV:

     Some men are modest, and seem to take pains to hide their virtues; and, from a natural distance and reserve in their tempers, scarce suffer their good qualities to be known […] .

3. Specifically, each of several qualities held to be particularly important, including the four cardinal virtues, the three theological virtues, or the seven virtues opposed to the seven deadly sins. [from 14th c.]
4. An inherently advantageous or excellent quality of something or someone; a favourable point, an advantage. [from 14th c.]
   • 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe:

     There were divers other plants, which I had no notion of or understanding about, that might, perhaps, have virtues of their own, which I could not find out.

   • 2011, The Guardian, Letter, 14 Mar 2011

     One virtue 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 […] .

5. A creature embodying divine power, specifically one of the orders of heavenly beings, traditionally ranked above angels and below archangels. [from 14th c.]
   • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book X:

     Thrones, Dominations, Princedoms, Virtues, Powers; / For in possession such, not only of right, / I call ye, and declare ye now […] .

6. (uncountable) Specifically, moral conduct in sexual behaviour, especially of women; chastity. [from 17th c.]
7. (obsolete) The inherent power of a god, or other supernatural being. [13th–19th c.]
8. The inherent power or efficacy of something (now only in phrases). [from 13th c.]
   • 1801, Robert Southey, Thalaba the Destroyer:

     There was a virtue in the wave;
     His limbs, that, stiff with toil,
     Dragg’d heavy, from the copious draught receiv’d
     Lightness and supple strength.

   • 2011, "The autumn of the patriarchs", The Economist, 17 Feb 2011:

     many Egyptians still worry that the Brotherhood, by virtue of discipline and experience, would hold an unfair advantage if elections were held too soon.

Synonyms

• douth (obsolete), thew
• See Thesaurus:goodness

Antonyms

• (excellence in morals): vice
• foible

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• aretaic
• paragon

Further reading

• virtue in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• virtue in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• virtue on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Viruet

Middle English

Noun

virtue

1. Alternative form of vertu

English

Alternative forms

• abilitie, hability, habilitie (obsolete)

Etymology

First attested in the 1300s. From Middle English abilite (“suitability, aptitude, ability”), from Middle French habilité, from Old French ableté, from Latin habilit?s (“aptness, ability”), from habilis (“apt, fit, skillful, able”), equivalent to able +? -ity.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??b?l.?.ti/, /??.b?l.?.ti/
• Rhymes: -?l?ti

Noun

ability (countable and uncountable, plural abilities)

1. (obsolete) Suitableness. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 17^th century.]
2. (uncountable) The quality or state of being able; capacity to do or of doing something; having the necessary power. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
3. The legal wherewithal to act. [First attested in the mid 17^th century.]
4. (now limited to Scotland dialects) Physical power. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
5. (archaic) Financial ability. [First attested in the early 16^th century.]
6. (uncountable) A unique power of the mind; a faculty. [First attested in the late 16 ^th century.]
7. (countable) A skill or competence in doing; mental power; talent; aptitude. [First attested in the early 17 ^th century.]
   • 1769, King James Bible, Acts 11:29

     Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren.

Usage notes

• Ability, capacity : these words come into comparison when applied to the higher intellectual powers.
  • Ability has reference to the active exercise of our faculties. It implies not only native vigor of mind, but that ease and promptitude of execution which arise from mental training. Thus, we speak of the ability with which a book is written, an argument maintained, a negotiation carried on, etc. It always supposes something to be done, and the power of doing it.
  • Capacity has reference to the receptive powers. In its higher exercises it supposes great quickness of apprehension and breadth of intellect, with an uncommon aptitude for acquiring and retaining knowledge. Hence it carries with it the idea of resources and undeveloped power. Thus we speak of the extraordinary capacity of such men as Lord Bacon, Blaise Pascal, and Edmund Burke. "Capacity," says H. Taylor, "is requisite to devise, and ability to execute, a great enterprise."
• The word abilities, in the plural, embraces both these qualities, and denotes high mental endowments.

Synonyms

• (quality or state of being able): capacity, faculty, capability
• (a skill or competence): See Thesaurus:skill
• (high level of skill or capability): talent, cleverness, dexterity, aptitude
• (suitability or receptiveness to be acted upon): capability, faculty, capacity, aptness, aptitude

Antonyms

• inability, unability
• disability

Derived terms

• notability

Related terms

• able

Translations

Further reading

• ability in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ability in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

References