morality

noun
/məˈɹælɪti/UK

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman moralité, Middle French moralité, from Late Latin mōrālitās (“manner, characteristic, character”), from Latin mōrālis (“relating to manners or morals”), from mōs (“manner, custom”). equivalent to moral + -ity.

  1. derived from mōrālis — “relating to manners or morals
  2. derived from moral
  3. inherited from moral
  4. suffixed as morality — “moral + ity

Definitions

  1. Recognition of the distinction between good and evil or between right and wrong

    Recognition of the distinction between good and evil or between right and wrong; respect for and obedience to the rules of right conduct; the mental disposition or characteristic of behaving in a manner intended to produce morally good results.

    • Ellery Jackson-Hubbard. […] A man radiating prosperity, optimism and selfishness. Has no morality whatever. Is a conscious individualist, cold-blooded, pitiless, working only for himself, and believing in nothing but himself.
    • Science and art without morality are not dangerous in the sense commonly supposed. They are not dangerous like a fire, but dangerous like a fog.
  2. A set of social rules, customs, traditions, beliefs, or practices which specify proper,…

    A set of social rules, customs, traditions, beliefs, or practices which specify proper, acceptable forms of conduct.

    • I have to live for others and not for myself: thats middle class morality.
    • He smiled a little. "Morality is the average conduct of the average man at a given time and place. It is based on custom and expediency."
  3. A set of personal guiding principles for conduct or a general notion of how to behave,…

    A set of personal guiding principles for conduct or a general notion of how to behave, whether respectable or not.

    • His morality was such as naturally proceeds from loose opinions.
    • Deputy District Attorney Bill Tingle called Jones "the devil's right-hand man" and said he should be punished for his "atrocious morality."
  4. + 4 more definitions
    1. A lesson or pronouncement which contains advice about proper behavior.

      • "She had done her duty"—"she left the matter to them that had a charge anent such things"—and "Providence would bring the mystery to light in his own fitting time"—such were the moralities with which the good dame consoled herself.
      • What mean these stale moralities, / Sir Preacher, from your desk you mumble?
    2. A morality play.

      • The Moralities displayed something more of art and invention than the Mysteries; in them virtues, vices and qualities were personified, and something like a plot was frequently to be discovered.
    3. Moral philosophy, the branch of philosophy which studies the grounds and nature of…

      Moral philosophy, the branch of philosophy which studies the grounds and nature of rightness, wrongness, good, and evil.

    4. A particular theory concerning the grounds and nature of rightness, wrongness, good, and…

      A particular theory concerning the grounds and nature of rightness, wrongness, good, and evil.

      • Hume's morality which ‘implies some sentiment common to all mankind’; Kant's morality for all rational beings; Butler's morality with its presupposition of ‘uniformity of conscience’.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at morality. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01morality02traditions03tradition04passed05collocations06collocation07expected08expect09obligatory10morally

A definitional loop anchored at morality. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at morality

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

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