arete
noun
the aggregate of qualities, as valor and virtue, making up good character.
arete
1 American
[ahr-i-tay]
/ ˌɑr ɪˈteɪ /
noun
arête
2
American
[uh-rayt]
/ əˈreɪt /
noun
Physical Geography, Geology.
arête
British
/ əˈrɛt, əˈreɪt /
noun
arête
Scientific
/ ə-rāt′ /
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In some ways, Romanitas was the Romans’ spin on the old Greek combination of arete and civic virtue.
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
Aristotle sought to rescue rhetoric from its place as a purely instrumental art: the highest rhetorical accomplishment, for Aristotle, was an expression of arete, or virtue.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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
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
To determine the arête, or excellence, of something, you have to know what its purpose or function is.
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
Passing on to the Z’Mutt arête without further difficulty, Carrel and Bich climbed by that ridge to the summit of the mountain.
From The Ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper
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.
