different between virtue vs distinction
virtue
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)
- (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.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, XV.1:
- 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 […] .
- 1766, Laurence Sterne, Sermon XLIV:
- 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.]
- 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 […] .
- 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe:
- 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 […] .
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book X:
- (uncountable) Specifically, moral conduct in sexual behaviour, especially of women; chastity. [from 17th c.]
- (obsolete) The inherent power of a god, or other supernatural being. [13th–19th c.]
- 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.
- There was a virtue in the wave;
- 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.
- 1801, Robert Southey, Thalaba the Destroyer:
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
- Alternative form of vertu
virtue From the web:
- what virtue means
- what virtue is the opposite of wrath
- what virtue is the foundation of prayer
- what virtues are there
- what virtues are given directly by god
- what virtue is the opposite of envy
- what virtue signaling
- what virtue does society demand
distinction
English
Etymology
From Middle English distinccioun, from Old French distinction (attested 12th century), from the Latin accusative distinctionem, action noun of distinguo (“I distinguish”). Used in English from the late 14th century.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d??st??k??n/
Noun
distinction (countable and uncountable, plural distinctions)
- That which distinguishes; a single occurrence of a determining factor or feature, the fact of being divided; separation, discrimination.
- The act of distinguishing, discriminating; discrimination.
- Specifically, a feature that causes someone or something to stand out as being better; a mark of honour, rank, eminence or excellence; being distinguished.
- 2013, Daniel Taylor, Steven Gerrard goal against Poland ensures England will go to World Cup (in The Guardian, 15 October 2013)[2]
- Leighton Baines, playing with distinction again, sent over a left-wing cross with pace and accuracy. Welbeck, prominently involved all night, could not reach it but Rooney was directly behind him, flashing his header past Szczesny.
- 2013, Daniel Taylor, Steven Gerrard goal against Poland ensures England will go to World Cup (in The Guardian, 15 October 2013)[2]
Antonyms
- (that which distinguishes): confusion
Derived terms
- contradistinction
- distinction without a difference
Related terms
- distinct
- distinguish
- distinguished
- distinguishable
- distinguishness
Translations
French
Etymology
From Old French distinction (attested in the 12th century), from borrowed from the Latin accusative distinctionem, the action noun of distinguere (“distinguish”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dis.t??k.sj??/
- Rhymes: -??
- Homophone: distinctions
Noun
distinction f (plural distinctions)
- distinction (difference, honour)
Related terms
- distinct
- distinguer
Further reading
- “distinction” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
distinction From the web:
- what distinction was signified by the magna carta
- what distinction means
- what distinctions does russia enjoy
- what distinction did it earn in the 1920s
- what was achieved with the carta magna
- what does magna carta represent
- what were the main points of the magna carta
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