ethical

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛθɪkəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is ethic with the suffix -al,^[2][3] ultimately from Latin ethicus, from Greek ἠθικός (ēthikós), from ἦθος (êthos, “custom, character”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to morality or the science of ethics: 1607, about 1600 in Etymonline.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

A work dealing with moral questions is from 1665,^[5] and the ethical dative in grammar from 1849.^[5] Morally right, in accordance with ethics, is from before 1871.^[5] A medicine advertised only to the medical profession is from 1935,^[5] and investment that avoids harmful companies, in finance, from 1980.^[5]

Timeline

• 1607 – relating to morality.^[5]
• 1665 – of a moral treatise.^[5]
• 1849 – ethical dative.^[5]
• before 1871 – morally right.^[5]
• 1935 – of a prescription drug.^[5]
• 1980 – ethical investment.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Relating to ethics or morality.
2. Following the accepted principles of right conduct, especially of a profession.
3. Of a drug, available only on prescription.

Noun

1. A drug available only on prescription.

Word family

• ethically
• ethicality
• ethicalness
• hyperethical
• nonethical
• pseudoethical
• superethical

Related words

• ethic
• ethics
• ethos
• moral

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press