virtu
Americannoun
-
excellence or merit in objects of art, curios, and the like.
-
(used with a plural verb) such objects or articles collectively.
-
a taste for or knowledge of such objects.
noun
-
a taste or love for curios or works of fine art; connoisseurship
-
such objects collectively
-
the quality of being rare, beautiful, or otherwise appealing to a connoisseur (esp in the phrases articles of virtu; objects of virtu )
Etymology
Origin of virtu
First recorded in 1715–25; from Italian virtù, vertù “worth, maleness, strength”; see virtue
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For example, Machiavelli appears and discusses his philosophical concept of "virtu" – the qualities needed to be a leader – with the hero Ezio.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 15, 2011
By borrowing a U.S. en gineering technique of offering clients "total package deals," Bufete has virtu ally cornered the Mexican engineering market while taking a lot of business away from U.S. competitors.
From Time Magazine Archive
Scientists have discovered that each species and strain has a distinctive "fingerprint" that can be used for virtu ally immediate identification.
From Time Magazine Archive
But large further sums were spent on such bric-a- brackery, such articles of virtu, as 37 bronze-labeled stones from foreign countries in the "Hall of Nations."
From Time Magazine Archive
Besides Italy, England, France, and Germany have had their great men in the Fiddle world, whose instruments have ever been classed as objects of virtu.
From The Violin Its Famous Makers and Their Imitators by George Hart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
