moral: [14] Latin mōs ‘custom’ is the starting point of the English family of ‘morality’-words (and its plural mōres was acquired by English as mores in the 20th century). Its derived adjective mōrālis was coined, according to some by Cicero, as a direct translation of Greek ēthikós ‘ethical’, to denote the ‘typical or proper behaviour of human beings in society’, and was borrowed directly into English in the 14th century. Morale [18] was borrowed from French, where it is the feminine form of the adjective moral.
At first it was used in English for ‘morality, moral principles’; its modern sense ‘condition with regard to optimism, cheerfulness, etc’ is not recorded until the early 19th century. => morale, mores
moral (adj.)
mid-14c., "pertaining to character or temperament" (good or bad), from Old French moral (14c.) and directly from Latin moralis "proper behavior of a person in society," literally "pertaining to manners," coined by Cicero ("De Fato," II.i) to translate Greek ethikos (see ethics) from Latin mos (genitive moris) "one's disposition," in plural, "mores, customs, manners, morals," of uncertain origin. Perhaps sharing a PIE root with English mood (n.1).
Meaning "morally good, conforming to moral rules," is first recorded late 14c. of stories, 1630s of persons. Original value-neutral sense preserved in moral support, moral victory (with sense of "pertaining to character as opposed to physical action"). Related: Morally.
moral (n.)
"moral exposition of a story," c. 1500, from moral (adj.) and from French moral and Late Latin morale.
双语例句
1. Malvolio becomes, in default of competition, the play's moral centre.
因为没有与其竞争者，马伏里奥自然成了该剧的道德核心。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Her case falls within the ambit of moral law.
她的案例属于道德法律的范畴。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Bennett launched a crusade for "moral values" against decadent "liberal relativism."
贝内特发起了一场捍卫“道德价值”、反对腐朽堕落的“自由相对论”的战争。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The massacre laid bare the moral bankruptcy of the regime.
大屠杀使该政权的道德沦丧暴露无遗。
来自柯林斯例句
5. This argument is untenable from an intellectual, moral and practical standpoint.