by virtue of

prep
/baɪ ˈvɜːtʃuː ɒv/UK/baɪ ˈvɝtʃu ʌv/US

Etymology

Modification of Middle English in vertu of, a calque of Anglo-Norman par vertu de or Middle French par la vertu de (“by the authority of”); from Old French vertu (“goodness; honour; valour; virtue”) (whence English virtue (“(obsolete) inherent power of a god or other supernatural being; inherent power or efficacy of something”)).

  1. derived from vertu — “goodness; honour; valour; virtue

Definitions

  1. (originally) By the authority or power of

    (originally) By the authority or power of; (now) because of; on the grounds of; by reason of.

    • But in the high Court of Parliament, every Man by virtue of the King's Authority, by Writ under the Great Seal, hath a judicial Place; and ſo conſequently the killing of every of them had been a ſeveral Treaſon, and Crimen læſæ Majeſtatis.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for by virtue of. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA