moral

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈmɒr.əl/, US /ˈmɔːr.əl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English moral, borrowed from Old French moral and directly from Latin mōrālis (“relating to manners or customs”),^[2][3][4] from mōs, mōris “disposition, custom”, plural mōrēs “manners, morals”.^[2][3][5] Cicero is said to have coined mōrālis to render Greek ēthikós “ethical”.^[2][3] The origin of mōs is uncertain,^[2] though it may share a root with English mood.^[2][3][4] It is related to morale, mores and morose.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to character or conduct as good or bad: before 1340 in the OED, about 1340 in Richard Rolle's Psalter in Barnhart, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^[7][3][2]

Semantic evolution

Concerned with the rules of right conduct as a subject of study is from 1387.^[7] Of persons, habitually following moral rules, it is from the 1630s,^[2] and of rights and duties founded on morality rather than law from the 1680s.^[2] The sense “affecting character or mind rather than the body” is from the 1590s, as in moral support (1823) and moral victory (1888).^[2] As a noun, the plural rendered Latin Moralia, the title of Gregory the Great's commentary on Job, from about 1380,^[7][6][8] and the lesson of a fable or story is from about 1500.^[2][7] Morals, habits of conduct, are from the 17th century.^[5] French morale was borrowed in the 18th century and later spelled with -e to show the stress.^[6][5] In dialect the very moral of meant an exact likeness.^[7][9]

Timeline

• a. 1340 – adjective, of conduct.^[7][3]
• c. 1380 – the Moralia.^[7]
• 1387 – moral philosophy.^[7]
• c. 1500 – noun, the lesson of a story.^[2][7]
• 1630s – of persons, virtuous.^[2]
• 1823 – moral support.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Concerned with the principles of right and wrong behaviour.
2. Following accepted standards of right behaviour; virtuous.
3. Based on conscience or a sense of right rather than law: a moral obligation.
4. Psychological rather than physical: moral support.

Noun

1. The lesson taught by a story or event.
2. (plural) Principles of right conduct, especially in sexual matters.

Word family

• morally
• moralless
• hypermoral
• moralistic
• nonmoral
• premoral
• moral hazard
• Moral Majority

Related words

• morale
• morality
• moralize
• mores
• morose
• mood

Usage notes

Moral, ethical, virtuous and righteous all mean in keeping with right conduct, but moral is used chiefly of personal character and behaviour, especially sexual conduct, and ethical more of rules of right conduct, such as those of a profession.^[10]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin