Vertu
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The fine arts as a subject of study or expertise; understanding of arts and antiquities. historical, uncountable
"To give them their Due, they ſoar a Step higher than their Predeceſſors, and may be called Men of Wiſdom and Vertù (take heed you do not read Virtue)."
- 2 artistic quality wordnet
- 3 Objets d'art collectively. historical, uncountable
"A Catalogue of a Truly Valuable Assemblage of Articles of Virtu of William Chinnery, Esq. Brought from Gillwell, Essex[…]."
- 4 love of or taste for fine objects of art wordnet
- 5 Especially with reference to the writings of Machiavelli (1469–1527): the requisite qualities for political or military success; vitality, determination; power. uncountable
"All these connotations, even the positive and moral ones, are within the range of significations Machiavelli wants us to hear in “virtù.” For him the word suggests a kind of flexibility that can initiate effective, efficient, and energetic action based on a courageous assertion of the will and an ability to execute the products of one's own calculations. Such calculations are a significant adjunct to his ideas about virtù: they outline what might be called an internal or mental virtù."
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- 6 Moral worth; virtue, virtuousness. uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"To give them their Due, they ſoar a Step higher than their Predeceſſors, and may be called Men of Wiſdom and Vertù (take heed you do not read Virtue)."
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian virtù, †vertù (“moral worth, virtue (13th century); determination, perseverance, military valour (14th century); study of the liberal or fine arts; appreciation of, taste for, or expertise in the fine arts; objets d'art collectively (16th century)”); or from French vertu (“virtue”), ultimately from Latin virtūt-, virtus (“virtue”). Doublet of virtue; compare also virtuoso.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.