ἀρετή

See also: Ἀρετή and αρετή

Ancient Greek

FWOTD – 24 June 2024

Alternative forms

ᾰ̓ρετᾱ́ (ăretā́) — Doric

Etymology

Apparently from a Proto-Indo-European *h₂rh₁téh₂, from a root *h₂erh₁- (“to arrange, fit”). See also the related terms ἀρέσκω (aréskō, “to please”), ἀρείων (areíōn, “better, braver”), and ἀραρίσκω (ararískō, “to join, fasten”), the latter which Beekes considers the most clearly connected term semantically.^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.re.tɛ̌ː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.reˈte̝/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.reˈti/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.reˈti/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.reˈti/

Noun

ᾰ̓ρετή • (ăretḗ) f (genitive ᾰ̓ρετῆς); first declension

goodness, excellence
manliness, prowess, rank, valour
(not countable): virtue
(countable): a virtue, the virtues
character, reputation, glory, fame, dignity, distinction
miracle, wonder
(as a title) "your worship"
plaster

Declension

First declension of ἡ ᾰ̓ρετή; τῆς ᾰ̓ρετῆς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓ρετή hē ăretḗ	τὼ ᾰ̓ρετᾱ́ tṑ ăretā́	αἱ ᾰ̓ρεταί hai ăretaí
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓ρετῆς tês ăretês	τοῖν ᾰ̓ρεταῖν toîn ăretaîn	τῶν ᾰ̓ρετῶν tôn ăretôn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓ρετῇ tēî ăretēî	τοῖν ᾰ̓ρεταῖν toîn ăretaîn	ταῖς ᾰ̓ρεταῖς taîs ăretaîs
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓ρετήν tḕn ăretḗn	τὼ ᾰ̓ρετᾱ́ tṑ ăretā́	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓ρετᾱ́ς tā̀s ăretā́s
Vocative	ᾰ̓ρετή ăretḗ	ᾰ̓ρετᾱ́ ăretā́	ᾰ̓ρεταί ăretaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

→ Coptic: ⲁⲣⲉⲧⲏ (aretē)
→ English: arete
Greek: αρετή (aretí)

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἀρετή”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 128

“ἀρετή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ἀρετή”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“ἀρετή”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
ἀρετή in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
Bauer, Walter et al. (2001), A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
ἀρετή in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
ἀρετή in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2026)
G703 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- boldness idem, page 88.
- bravery idem, page 94.
- courage idem, page 178.
- excellence idem, page 288.
- fortitude idem, page 340.
- gallantry idem, page 352.
- goodness idem, page 367.
- heroism idem, page 398.
- merit idem, page 526.
- valour idem, page 943.
- virtue idem, page 954.
- well-doing idem, page 974.
ἀρετή, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἀρετή”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 128

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