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• arete
  arete

  noun

  the aggregate of qualities, as valor and virtue, making up good character.
• arête
  arête

  noun

  a sharp rugged mountain ridge, produced by glaciation.

arete

¹ American  

[ahr-i-tey] / ˌɑr ɪˈteɪ /

noun

1. the aggregate of qualities, as valor and virtue, making up good character.

   Our greatest national heroes not only did extraordinary things, but had enormous arete.

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arête ² American  

[uh-reyt] / əˈreɪt /

noun

Physical Geography, Geology.

1. a sharp rugged mountain ridge, produced by glaciation.

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arête British  

/ əˈrɛt, əˈreɪt /

noun

1. a sharp ridge separating two cirques or glacial valleys in mountainous regions

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arête Scientific  

/ ə-rāt′ /

1. A sharp, narrow ridge or spur commonly found above the snow line in mountainous areas that have been sculpted by glaciers. Arêtes form as the result of the continued backward erosion of adjoining cirques.

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Etymology

Origin of arete¹

First recorded in 1550–70; from Greek aretḗ “excellence, virtue”

Origin of arête²

First recorded in 1860–65; from French: literally, “fishbone, ridge, bridge (of the nose),” from Old French areste “sharp ridge,” from Latin arista “ear of grain (wheat), awn”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arete arête

Both poems celebrated arete – a Greek virtue which can be translated in English as “excellence” and “success,” but must be understood as a moral characteristic as much as a physical or mental one.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020

This funky goop, called gloios and thought to contain the essence of arete — valor, excellence — was often funneled into small vials and sold at gyms for medicinal purposes.

From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2016

In doing so, they sacrifice the wallet’s core virtue—what Plato would have called its arete.

From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2015

“The themes of Walt’s need to express his excellence — arete — has been there from the beginning,” Cyrino said.

From Forbes ● Sep. 28, 2013

From this point the route angled steeply upward along a graceful arete of wind-compacted snow that culminated in the South Summit—where I arrived at 11:00 to find a second, even worse bottleneck.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Far below, fast-flowing meltwater cuts a frozen ravine into the glacier; above, on the horizon, the Grandes Jorasses arête, a narrow ridge of rock that separates two valleys, soars with terrifying verticality.

From National Geographic ● Apr. 16, 2023

For example, the purpose of a knife is to cut things, so its arête is sharpness.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

It is easier to determine the arête of a practical object like a knife than the arête of a person.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

In ancient Greek, the word for virtue was arête, which can also be translated as “excellence.”

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

The shrill whistle of the blast tore past their ears, singing through the weather-beaten herbage which straggled upon the side of the arête.

From Fordham's Feud by Mitford, Bertram

Related Words

• ridge