ethic
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
Ethic (singular) refers to a specific personal or group code that guides behaviour — a person's work ethic, a profession's ethic of honesty. Morality is the broader, more abstract concept of the principles that distinguish right from wrong in a society or culture; it tends to feel bigger and more universal. A moral is a concrete lesson about right and wrong learned from a story or experience (e.g., 'the moral of the fable'). Ethics (plural) is the standard term for the academic discipline of moral philosophy, but in everyday language it often overlaps with 'ethic' (singular) when talking about professional standards ('medical ethics'). In practice: 'His personal ethic kept him honest' vs. 'The morality of the law was debated' vs. 'She teaches ethics at the university.'
Common collocations
Phrases
- code of ethics
- business ethic
- work ethic
- professional ethic
Prepositions
- ethic of
Etymology
Ethic entered English in the 1300s from Old French 'ethique', which came from Late Latin 'ethica', borrowed from Greek 'ēthikē' (moral philosophy). The Greek root 'ēthos' originally meant 'character' or 'custom'. Over centuries the word shifted from referring to a person's inner character to meaning a system of moral rules that guides outward behaviour. The plural form 'ethics' took over as the name of the philosophical discipline by the 1600s.