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Webster 1913 Edition

Morality

Mo-ral′i-ty

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Moralities
(#)
.
[L.
moralitas
: cf. F.
moralité
.]
1.
The relation of conformity or nonconformity to the moral standard or rule; quality of an intention, a character, an action, a principle, or a sentiment, when tried by the standard of right.
The
morality
of an action is founded in the freedom of that principle, by virtue of which it is in the agent’s power, having all things ready and requisite to the performance of an action, either to perform or not perform it.
South.
2.
The quality of an action which renders it good; the conformity of an act to the accepted standard of right.
Of
moralitee
he was the flower.
Chaucer.
I am bold to think that
morality
is capable of demonstration.
Locke.
3.
The doctrines or rules of moral duties, or the duties of men in their social character; ethics.
The end of
morality
is to procure the affections to obey reason, and not to invade it.
Bacon.
The system of
morality
to be gathered out of . . . ancient sages falls very short of that delivered in the gospel.
Swift.
4.
The practice of the moral duties; rectitude of life; conformity to the standard of right; virtue;
as, we often admire the politeness of men whose
morality
we question
.
5.
A kind of allegorical play, so termed because it consisted of discourses in praise of morality between actors representing such characters as Charity, Faith, Death, Vice, etc. Such plays were occasionally exhibited as late as the reign of
Henry VIII.
Strutt.
6.
Intent; meaning; moral.
[Obs.]
Taketh the
morality
thereof, good men.
Chaucer.

Webster 1828 Edition

Morality

MORAL'ITY

,
Noun.
The doctrine or system of moral duties, or the duties of men in their social character; ethics.
The system of morality to be gathered from the writings of ancient sages, falls very short of that delivered in the gospel.
1.
The practice of the moral duties; virtue. We often admire the politeness of men whose morality we question.
2.
The quality of an action which renders it good; the conformity of an act to the divine law, or to the principles of rectitude. This conformity implies that the act must be performed by a free agent, and from a motive of obedience to the divine will. This is the strict theological and scriptural sense of morality. But we often apply the word to actions which accord with justice and human laws, without reference to the motives form which they proceed.

Definition 2024

morality

morality

English

Noun

morality ‎(countable and uncountable, plural moralities)

  1. (uncountable) 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.
    • 1841, Thomas Carlyle, Heroes and Hero Worship, ch. 3:
      Without morality, intellect were impossible for him; a thoroughly immoral man could not know anything at all! To know a thing, what we can call knowing, a man must first love the thing, sympathize with it: that is, be virtuously related to it.
    • 1910, Jack London, Theft: A Play In Four Acts, "Characters":
      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.
    • 1911, G. K. Chesterton, Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens, ch. 16:
      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.
    • 1965, "King Moves North," Time, 30 Apr.:
      It may be true that you cannot legislate morality, but behavior can be regulated.
  2. (countable) A set of social rules, customs, traditions, beliefs, or practices which specify proper, acceptable forms of conduct.
    • 1912, George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion, act 5:
      I have to live for others and not for myself: that's middle class morality.
    • 1917, William MacLeod Raine. The Yukon Trail, ch. 14:
      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. (countable) A set of personal guiding principles for conduct or a general notion of how to behave, whether respectable or not.
    • 1781, Samuel Johnson, "Sheffield" in Lives of the Poets:
      His morality was such as naturally proceeds from loose opinions.
    • 1994, "Man Convicted of Murder in '92 Bludgeoning," San Jose Mercury News, 4 Nov., p. 2B:
      Deputy District Attorney Bill Tingle called Jones "the devil's right-hand man" and said he should be punished for his "atrocious morality."
  4. (countable, archaic) A lesson or pronouncement which contains advice about proper behavior.
    • 1824, Sir Walter Scott, St. Ronan's Well, ch. 16:
      "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.
    • 1882, William Makepeace Thackeray, "Vanitas Vanitatum" in Ballads, p. 195:
      What mean these stale moralities,
      Sir Preacher, from your desk you mumble?
  5. (uncountable, rare) Moral philosophy, the branch of philosophy which studies the grounds and nature of rightness, wrongness, good, and evil.
    • 1953, J. Kemp, "Review of The Claim of Morality by N.H.G. Robinson," The Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 3, no. 12, p. 278:
      Robinson sums up the conclusion of the first part of his book as being "that the task of the moralist is to set in their proper relation to one another the three different types of moral judgment . . . and so reveal the field of morality as a single self-coherent system".
  6. (countable, rare) A particular theory concerning the grounds and nature of rightness, wrongness, good, and evil.
    • 1954, Bernard Mayo, "Ethics and Moral Controversy," The Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 14, p. 11:
      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’.

Usage notes

  • Although the terms morality and ethics may sometimes be used interchangeably, philosophical ethicists often distinguish them, using morality and its related terms to refer to actual, real-world beliefs and practices concerning proper conduct, and using ethics to refer to theories and conceptual studies relating to good and evil and right and wrong. In this vein, the American philosopher Brand Blanshard wrote concerning his friend, the eminent British ethicist G. E. Moore: "We often discussed ethics, but seldom morals. . . . He was a master in ethical theory, but did not conceive himself as specially qualified to pass opinions on politics or social issues." [1]

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External links

  • morality in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • morality in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • morality at OneLook Dictionary Search

References

  1. ↑ Paul Schilpp, ed., The Philosophy of Brand Blanshard, Library of Living Philosophers, ISBN 0875483496, "Autobiography", p. 85.

Anagrams

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman moralité, Middle French moralité, from Late Latin moralitas ‎(“manner, characteristic, character”), from Latin mōrālis ‎(“relating to manners or morals”), from mos ‎(“manner, custom”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /məˈɹalɪti/
  • Rhymes: -ælɪti

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