moral

Etymology

From French moral, from Latin mōrālis (“relating to manners or morals”) (first used by Cicero, to translate Ancient Greek ἠθικός (ēthikós, “moral”)), from mos (“manner, custom”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɒɹəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔɹəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒrəl

Adjective

moral (comparative more moral, superlative most moral)

1. Of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behaviour, especially for teaching right behaviour.

   moral judgments;  a moral poem

   • Nathaniel Hawthorne

     She had wandered without rule or guidance in a moral wilderness.

2. Conforming to a standard of right behaviour; sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment.
   • Sir M. Hale

     the wiser and more moral part of mankind

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:

     The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.

   a moral obligation

3. Capable of right and wrong action.

   a moral agent

4. Probable but not proved.

   a moral certainty

5. Positively affecting the mind, confidence, or will.

   a moral victory;  moral support

Noun

moral (plural morals)

1. (of a narrative) The ethical significance or practical lesson.

   The moral of The Boy Who Cried Wolf is that if you repeatedly lie, people won't believe you when you tell the truth.

   • Macaulay

     We protest against the principle that the world of pure comedy is one into which no moral enters.

2. Moral practices or teachings: modes of conduct.
3. (obsolete) A morality play.

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• molar, romal

Etymology

From Latin mōrālis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /moˈɾal/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /muˈɾal/

Adjective

moral (masculine and feminine plural morals)

1. moral (relating to right and wrong)
2. moral (conforming to a standard of right behaviour)

Noun

moral f (plural morals)

1. morals
2. morale

Further reading

• “moral” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Etymology

Middle French and Old French moral, from Latin moralis

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

moral m (plural moraux)

1. morale, optimism

Adjective

moral (feminine singular morale, masculine plural moraux, feminine plural morales)

1. moral

Further reading

• “moral” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Adjective

moral m (feminine singular morala, masculine plural morai, feminine plural morales)

1. moral

Etymology

From Latin moralis.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mu.ˈɾaɫ/
  • Homophone: mural
• Hyphenation: mo‧ral

Adjective

moral m, f (plural morais, comparable)

1. moral

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mǒraːl/
• Hyphenation: mo‧ral

Noun

mòrāl m (Cyrillic spelling мо̀ра̄л)

1. (uncountable) moral

Etymology

From Latin mōrālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moˈɾal/

Adjective

moral (plural morales)

1. moral

Noun

moral f (plural morales)

1. morals
2. morale

Noun

moral m (plural morales)

1. (tree): mulberry

Related terms

• moralidad
• moralismo
• moralizar
• moralmente

Further reading

• “moral” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

Etymology

Loan from French morale via German Moral, used in Swedish in Then Swänska Argus (1730s).

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

moral c

1. morale, character
2. moral, moral practices, conduct

   snäv, viktoriansk moral

   strict, Victorian moral

3. a moral, a lesson (of a narrative)

References

• moral in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)
• moral in Svenska Akademiens Ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)