ética

Forms

ética f (plural éticas)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ethica (“ethics, moral philosophy”), a learned word.^[2][3][4][1] Latin took it from Greek, and the sources differ on the form: the DRAE, Moliner and Wiktionary name the feminine Ancient Greek ἠθική (ēthikḗ), while Corominas starts from the neuter plural ἠθικά (ēthiká).^{[4][5][1][2][3]} Both are forms of the adjective ἠθικός (ēthikós, “moral, relating to character”), from ἦθος (êthos, “character, manner of being”).^[2][1] Latin also had a Greek-shaped form ēthicē.^[6]

The adjective ético was taken at about the same time from ēthicus.^[2][3] The same Latin noun gave French éthique, and English has ethic and ethics.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record is in Alfonso X's General Estoria (1272–1275), in the Latin spelling ethica: el terçero saber es ethica que quiere dezir tanto como sciencia que fabla de costumbres “the third branch of knowledge is ethics, which means the science that speaks of customs”.^[8] DICCA-XV reports a CORDE record of 1436, and Corominas dates the word to about 1440, in A. Torre.^[9][2][3] From the start it named the part of philosophy that deals with morals.^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

From 1817 to 1899 the Academy defined ética as the part of philosophy that deals with morals and with human duties, and in 1817 and 1843 it gave Latin ethice as the equivalent.^{[10][11][12][13]} The 1884 edition was the first to derive it from Greek.^[14] In the Americas the word is recorded from 1793, in Lima, and later in phrases such as ética mercantil “business ethics” (Mexico, 1937).^[15]

The 2001 edition of the Academy's dictionary put first the sense “set of moral norms that govern conduct in any area of life”, as in ética profesional, and the philosophical discipline second.^[4] Vox also lists the conformity of an act with moral principles.^[16] Newer compounds include bioética.^[1]

Timeline

• 1272–1275 – Alfonso X's General Estoria defines ethica as the science of customs.^[8]
• 1436 – a record in the CORDE, as DICCA-XV reports.^[9]
• c. 1440 – the first record in Corominas, in A. Torre.^[2][3]
• 1793 – the first record from the Americas, in Lima.^[15]
• 1817 – the Academy defines it as the part of philosophy that treats of morals and human duties.^[10]
• 1884 – the Academy gives a Greek etymology for the first time.^[14]
• 2001 – the Academy puts the sense “set of moral norms” before the philosophical one.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The set of moral norms that govern a person's conduct, in general or in a particular field: Su ética le impidió aceptar el regalo.^[4][5][1]
2. (philosophy) ethics: the branch of philosophy that studies good and evil and the grounds of moral values.^{[4][5][16][1]}
3. Conformity with moral principles; the morality of an act: Nadie discutió la ética de su decisión.^[16]

Word family

• bioética

Related words

• ético
• etopeya
• moral
• French éthique

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 818
3. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. ético
4. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. ética
5. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. ética
6. ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2001), Nuevo diccionario etimológico latín-español y de las voces derivadas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 257
7. ^ a b Segura Munguía, Santiago (2014), Lexicón etimológico y semántico del latín y de las voces actuales que proceden de raíces latinas o griegas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 227
8. ^ a b c Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. ética
9. ^ a b Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. ética
10. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 400
11. ^ Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 329
12. ^ Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 344
13. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 438
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 473
15. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. ética
16. ^ a b c Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. ética