Ethic

How to spell ethic

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce ethic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ethic mean?

1. nounA guiding moral principle or set of values that governs a person's or group's conduct.

Ethic in a sentence

• A strong work ethic helped her finish the project ahead of schedule.

• The company built its reputation on an ethic of honesty with customers.

Where does ethic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek ethos, which literally meant a person's character, habitual disposition, or accustomed place, and from it came the adjective ethikos, meaning 'relating to character or morals'. The Greeks used the neuter plural ta ethika as the title for treatises on moral conduct, which is why Aristotle's famous work is still called the Nicomachean Ethics. Latin took the word as ethicus, and it passed into English through Old French ethique during the late Middle Ages. By the modern period the singular 'ethic' settled into use meaning a guiding moral principle or governing belief, as in the familiar phrase 'work ethic'. The spelling keeps the Greek-derived 'th' that stands in for the letter theta, and the single 'c' ending mirrors the borrowed Latin -icus.

How the word is built

• eth- (from Greek ethos: character, custom)
• -ic (adjective-forming suffix used here as a noun)