moralityn.

Brit.

/məˈralᵻti/, U.S.

/məˈrælədi/,

/mɔˈrælədi/

Forms: Middle English morallite, Middle English moralte, Middle English moraltee, Middle English–1500s moralite, Middle English–1500s moralitee, Middle English–1500s moralyte, Middle English–1500s moralytee, Middle English–1600s moralitie, 1500s morallytie, 1500s moralytye, 1500s– morality, 1600s morallity.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French moralité.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman moralité moral treatise, symbolism, interpretation and Middle French moralité (12th cent. in Old French in sense ‘moral treatise, moral teaching’; 13th cent. in sense ‘moral interpretation which an author or reader takes from a literary work’; late 13th cent. in sense ‘moral character, ethical value’; 1601 in French in sense ‘positive or negative value of a person's behaviour in relation to moral standards’) < post-classical Latin moralitas human nature (4th cent.), moral character, moral behaviour (4th cent.; from 11th cent. in British sources), moral interpretation of a text (4th cent.; from 12th cent. in British sources), moral rectitude (from 7th cent. in British sources), moral philosophy (mid 13th cent. in a British source) < classical Latin mōrālis (see moral adj.) + -tās (see -ty suffix¹; compare -ity suffix). Compare Italian moralità (early 14th cent.), Spanish moralidad (1413), Old Occitan moralitat (15th cent.), Portuguese moralidade (16th cent.).In sense 6b apparently adopted in the 18th cent. from French literary historians (attested in this sense from 1426 in Middle French); compare earlier moral n. 5a) and moral play n. at moral adj. Compounds 2. Compare Old Occitan moralitat (1495 in this sense).

†1. Ethical wisdom, knowledge of moral science. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] > knowledge of or devotion to

moralityc1375

ethicism1782

ethicalism1866

c1375 G. Chaucer Monk's Tale 3687 A maister hadde this emperour To teche hym lettrure and curteisye; For of moralitee he [sc. Seneca] was the flour.

a1450 J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 842 Though a man..Of Tullyus hadde the sugred eloquence, Or of Senek the greet moralitee.

c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) cxcvii. 4 (MED) Gowere and Chaucere..Superlative as poetis laureate In moralitee and eloquence ornate.

a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) 20831 The cheif matres of all moralitie, Historiographe of halie kirk is he.

†2. In plural. Moral qualities or endowments. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > [noun] > moral qualities or endowments

moralitiesc1390

moralsa1625

c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 462 For sothe o manere gentrye is for to preise that apparailleth mannes corage with vertues and moralitees [v.r. moraliteis].

1583 A. Nowell et al. True Rep. Disput. E. Campion sig. Dd4 The wise men of the Gentiles did alledge their moralities as a cause of their election.

1684 Z. Cawdrey Certainty Salvation 26 A person..of such eminent Moralities and Intellectuals.

1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I xx. 13 Neglect, indeed, requires a saint to bear it, And such, indeed, she was in her moralities.

a. Moral virtue; behaviour conforming to moral law or accepted moral standards, esp. in relation to sexual matters; personal qualities judged to be good.Occasionally used in Theology with reference to natural moral virtues as distinguished from the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Cf. moral virtue n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun]

philosophy1340

ethica1387

moralityc1390

ethics?a1425

moral philosophyc1443

morals?1566

moral science1656

moral sciences1656

ethology1696

aretaics1865

meta-ethics1938

the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > in moral aspect

governmentc1450

manners1589

morality1616

moralsa1625

society > morality > virtue > [noun] > conduct

governancea1393

good-doing1499

wealc1500

manners1578

morality1616

c1390 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale 3180 For he shal fynde ynowe grete and smale Of storial thyng that toucheth gentillesse, And eek moralitee and holynesse.

c1395 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 2046 A lord of his meynee That loued vertuous moralitee.

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 155 (MED) For it her conuersacioun schal not be maad the worse moralli, or ellis not aȝens notable, good, vertuose moralte.

c1520 in Terens in Eng. Prol. sig. A.i Except master Gowre which furst began And of moralite wrote ryght craftely.

1596 E. Coote Eng. Schoole-maister 87/2 Moralitie, ciuill behauiour.

1616 B. Jonson Epicœne iii. i, in Wks. I. 553 Goe to, behaue your selfe distinctly, and with good moralitie .

1657 T. Wall Comment on Times 59 It is hatred of sin makes them so malicious: It is separation from the wicked that makes them void of Christian society, and common Morality.

a1699 E. Stillingfleet Sermon in Wks. (1710) I. viii. 117 They [sc. the Jews] had the purity of his ordinances,..whereas all others, they thought, served God only with their own Inventions, or placed their Religion in dull morality.

1791 Bp. G. Horne Charge to Clergy 14 And here, by Religion is to be understood the Christian Religion; and by Morality, such good works as are independent of it.

1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park I. ix. 192 We do not look in great cities for our best morality .

1824 J. Hogg Private Mem. Justified Sinner 214 The most popular of all their preachers of morality.

1824 J. Hogg Private Mem. Justified Sinner 216 It was easy to see that the true Gospel preachers joined all on one side, and the upholders of pure morality and a blameless life on the other.

1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith i. 19 Justice, truth, love, duty, virtue—in one word, morality.

1878 R. W. Dale Lect. Preaching (ed. 3) viii. 243 There may be morality where there is no religion; but that there should be religion where there is no morality, is impossible.

1897 H. Tennyson Alfred Ld. Tennyson: Mem. I. xviii. 337 Some of his [sc. Ld. Tennyson's] talk was..roughly noted down: ‘Evil must come upon us headlong, if morality tries to get on without religion.’

1963 Philos. Rev. 72 520 Morality has or ought to have its fandom.

1989 B. Paris Louise Brooks ii. xii. 305 The normally more tolerant arbiters of morality thought it indecent for a father and son to vie sexually for the same woman.

†b. humorous or ironic. A person who habitually assumes an air of virtue. Also used as a mock title with possessive adjective. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd i., in Wks. (1875) III. 98 I am resolved, instead of his Grace, to call him alwayes his Morality.

1806 T. S. Surr Winter in London III. iv. 138 I suspect that his own son, young Morality, will require a little of his parental inspection.

a. Moral discourse or instruction; a moral lesson or exhortation. Also: the action or an act of moralizing.

ΚΠ

c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 38 If that yow list to heere, Moralite and vertuous matere.

a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) 22 (MED) Canterbury talys..Some of desport, some of moralite.

1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xi. 39 They fayned no fable without reason, For reasonable is al theyr moralitie.

1526 Pylgrimage of Perfection (de Worde) f. 5 We haue not taken theyr errours..but all moralytees and instruccyons of good maner and pollicy.

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xix. 205 But whensoeuer by your similitude ye will seeme to teach any moralitie or good lesson [etc.].

1625 T. Hawkins (title) Odes of Horace.., contayning much morallity, and sweetnesse.

1659 R. Boyle Some Motives & Incentives to Love of God 133 The excellent Moralities, couch'd in those ingenious Emblems.

a1704 T. Brown Walk round London in 3rd Vol. Wks. (1708) iii. 37 We pop'd into Old Man's just as I had ended my Morality.

1839 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe II. v. 303 Too often he [sc. Hunnis] falls into trivial morality.

1841 I. D'Israeli Amenities Lit. I. 285 The Confessio Amantis..; a singular miscellany of allegory, of morality, and of tales.

1877 M. Oliphant Makers of Florence (ed. 2) iii. 68 Quaint monkish moralities and scriptural quotations.

1889 J. Ruskin Præterita III. iv. 147 What is only a dream in Chaucer, becomes to us, understood from Scott, a consummate historical morality and truth.

1907 G. B. Shaw Major Barbara i in John Bull's Other Island 209 Your Christmas card moralities..are of no use to me.

1988 M. Warner Lost Father viii. 75 Not for him the cynical moralities of Pauson, who presented humanity worse than it is.

†b. A moral of a fable, event, etc.; the moral interpretation or sense of a text or passage. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > serious saying, dictum > [noun] > moral

moralityc1390

moralc1528

affabulation1641

prudential1719

moralism1836

maxim1883

c1390 G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale 4630 But ye that holden this tale a folye,..Taketh the moralitee goode men.

1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) 1560 Yf yt lyke on-to moralyte To draw ye names of the progenytours Of marye.

c1475 (?c1440) J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep (Harl.) in Select. Minor Poems (1840) 117 Of this fable..If ye list, take the moralite!

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry Prol. sig. A^v But who that redeth in the boke of the moralyties of the chesse shall therby perceyue: that [etc.].

1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages (title page) With ane Moralitie efter euerie Doctouris Tale, and siclike efter the Emprice Tale.

1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxi. 23 Orpheus, whose sweet Harpe..Intised Trees, and Rocks, to follow him along: Th' moralitie of which, is that [etc.].

1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. iii. at Aglaia The morallity of this inuention was to expresse the cheerfull conuersation which ought to be amongst friends.

†c. Moral truth or significance. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer v. 98 Tony. Ecod, mother, all the parish says you have spoiled me, and so you may take the fruits on't... Hard. There's morality, however, in his reply.

a. In plural. Points of ethics; moral principles or rules.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > [noun] > principle(s)

moralitiesc1400

principle?1533

ethic1659

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] > moral principles or moral law

moralitiesc1400

moral law1609

ethic1659

philosophy1727

natural law1899

c1400 Omnis Plantacio (Egerton) l. 2725 in Wks. Lollard Preacher (2001) 131 For as Crist myȝte not, so he dissoluede no such lawe, but perfourmede hem and declaride þe ful perfeccioun of þe moraltees of þe oold lawe.

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Yy1^v Wherin they ought to haue handled Custome, Exercise, Habit, Educacion [etc.]: theis as they haue determinate vse, in moralityes, from these the mind suffereth.

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 447. ¶4 If we consider attentively this Property of Human Nature, it may instruct us in very fine Moralities.

a1854 H. Reed Lect. Eng. Lit. (1855) xii. 405 The letters of Lord Chesterfield make a book of the minor moralities, and the major immoralities of life.

1861 J. S. Mill Utilitarianism v. 89 The moralities which protect every individual from being harmed by others.

1884 S. Cox Miracles 18 The fundamental moralities of the ‘Ten Words’.

a1911 D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) I. xiv. 241 Once you've climbed up among the successful people you can afford to indulge—in moderation—in practicing the good old moralities.

1971 W. Stegner Angle of Repose i. i. 15 I am much of what my parents and especially my grandparents were—..transmitted prejudices, culture, scruples, likings, moralities, and moral errors that I defend as if they were personal and not familial.

b. The branch of knowledge concerned with right and wrong conduct, duty, responsibility, etc.; moral philosophy, ethics.

ΚΠ

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Rr2^v The end of Moralitie, is to procure the Affections to obey Reason, and not to inuade it.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. xi. 256 Upon this ground it is, that I am bold to think, that Morality is capable of Demonstration, as well as Mathematicks [printed Methematicks].

1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. vii. 129 The Learning of this People..consisting only in Morality, History, Poetry and Mathematicks.

1785 T. Jefferson Let. 19 Aug. in Papers (1953) VIII. 407 In morality read Epictetus, Xenophontis memorabilia, Plato's Socratic dialogues, Cicero's philosophies.

1841 M. Elphinstone Hist. India I. ii. v. 237 Principles..on which every theory in physics and every maxim in morality depends.

1990 Times Educ. Suppl. 4 May A22/1 Mrs Thatcher questions the need for a special subject called ‘morality’.

c. A particular moral system or outlook; moral thought or conduct in relation to a particular form of activity.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] > particular system of

ethics1651

morality1680

1680 Bp. G. Burnet Some Passages Life Rochester (1692) 38 The two maxims of his morality were, that [etc.].

1695 J. Locke Reasonableness Christianity (1696) 271 He that shall collect all the Moral Rules of the Philosophers..will find them to come short of the Morality delivered by our Saviour.

1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxxi. 261 He soon experienced, that the principles of honour and integrity, which might regulate the ordinary conduct of Constantius, were superseded by the loose doctrines of political morality.

1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. ii. 33 The morality of the Gospel had a direct influence upon the politics of the age.

1898 Westm. Gaz. 26 Sept. 8/1 In these days of lying advertisements, when ‘commercial morality’ has become almost synonymous with ordinary immorality.

1907 H. Zimmern tr. F. Nietzsche Beyond Good & Evil ix. 227 In a tour through the many finer and coarser moralities which have hitherto prevailed or still prevail on the earth, I found certain traits recurring regularly together.

1975 Weekend Mag. (Montreal) 22 Nov. 8/1 Probing the murky waters of the so-called Harborgate affair was not the media's finest hour; nor, however, is it a stirring chapter in the history of political morality in this country.

1989 M. Moffatt Coming of Age in New Jersey v. 204 Over half the women writers and about half the men argued or assumed that women and men should follow different sexual moralities.

d. The ethical aspect of a question. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] > ethical aspect of a question

morale1814

morality1836

1836 W. E. Channing in Princeton Rev. Apr. 286 It leaves the morality of the question just where it was.

1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xii. 252 The morality of the question is easily summed up.

2002 www.aldenchronicles.com 5 Apr. (O.E.D. Archive) That in turn leads us to the slippery slope, rationing and making decisions about life and death apart from the morality of the question.

a. A literary or artistic work expounding or inculcating a moral lesson; †a moralizing commentary, a moral allegory (obsolete). Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > [noun] > moralizing

moralityc1475

c1475 (?c1440) J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep (Harl.) in Select. Minor Poems (1840) 117 The moralite of the hors, the goose, and the sheepe, translated by Dan Johne Lidgate.

1494 Loutfut MS f. 18, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Moralite(e And Ysop sais in his moraliteis at the haris assemblit anys to gider.

1599 F. Thynne Animaduersions (1875) 28 Molinet, the frenche auctor of the moralytye vppon the Romante of the roose.

1627 M. Drayton Moone-calfe in Battaile Agincourt 176 (margin) The morallity of mother Bumbyes tale.

1912 Dict. National Biogr. at Frith, William Powell Frith made two ill-advised attempts to rival Hogarth. The first of these moralities, ‘The Road to Ruin’, in five scenes, was at Burlington House in 1878.

b. = morality play n. at Compounds 1.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > morality play

moral playc1528

moral1578

morality1765

morality play1866

1765 T. Percy Reliques I. 123 The writers of these Moralities were upon the very threshold of real Tragedy and Comedy.

1773 (half-title to reprint of J. Skot's ed.) Everyman. A Morality.

1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iii. ii. 113 When the mysteries ceased to be played, the subjects for the drama were not taken from historical facts, but consisted of moral reasonings in praise of virtue and condemnation of vice, on which account they were called moralities.

1858 R. A. Vaughan Ess. & Remains I. 55 In one of our old English Moralities, the seven cardinal virtues are represented as besieged by the seven deadly sins.

1909 M. E. Albright Shakesperian Stage 147 The Elizabethan stage..was little more than a union of the old sedes and plateæ of the moralities, or the propertied and unpropertied stages of the interludes.

1933 H. Walpole Vanessa iii. vii. 637 A wind of insecurity blew through the theatre that night. The actors seemed like figures in a Morality.

1986 Daily Tel. 2 Mar. 15/3 This little morality—Mr Wood's third and sourest play about movie people—develops insufficient interest in its three characters..to make enthralling theatre.

a. Conformity of an idea, practice, etc., to moral law; moral goodness or rightness.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > virtue > [noun]

virtuec1230

morality1593

moralness1637

squareness1642

principledness1954

1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 104 Oh, that learning were euer married to such discretion;..contention to such moralitie.

1693 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. III. 260 The Good Man represents the Morality of his Nature.

1715 J. Addison Freeholder No. 6. ⁋7 Euripides..tho' famous for the morality of his plays, had introduced a person, who, being reminded of an oath he had taken, reply'd, ‘I swore with my mouth, but not with my heart’.

1772 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra II. lxviii. 315 Instances..of genius and morality united in a lawyer..are distinguished by their singularity.

1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility III. viii. 162 She was previously disposed, I believe, to doubt the morality of my conduct in general.

1902 in C. W. Cunnington Eng. Women's Clothing (1952) ii. 47 The questionable morality of the ‘Pneumonia blouse’... A transparent blouse of muslin and lace with next to no collar.

1988 J. M. McPherson Battle Cry of Freedom xiv. 446 Opponents also questioned the expediency, morality, even the theology of the legal tender bill.

†b. Theology. The property of certain enactments of the Mosaic law by which they belong to the moral (as opposed to ceremonial, etc.) law and therefore retain their validity under the Christian dispensation. Cf. moral adj. 5a. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Testament > Old Testament > [noun] > Mosaic dispensation > moral part of > belonging to

morality1613

1613 L. Bayly Practise of Pietie (ed. 3) 510 The fourth Commandement, being a morall Law, requireth a seuenth day, to be kept holy for euer. And the moralitie of this, as of the rest of the Commandements, is more religiously to be kept of vs vnder the Gospel, then of the Jewes vnder the Law.

1656 in T. Burton Diary (1828) I. 25 By the Mosaic law, blasphemers were to be stoned to death. The morality of this remains.

a1662 P. Heylyn Cyprianus Anglicus (1668) 124 These Doctrinal heads [of Puritanism], being ten in number, related to the indispensible morality of the Lords-day-Sabbath [etc.].

c. The quality or fact of being morally right or wrong; the goodness or badness of an action. Cf. moral adj. 1b.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > [noun]

morality1643

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] > quality of being morally good or evil

morality1643

1643 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce 31 Our Saviour disputes not heer the judicature, for that was not his office, but the morality of divorce, whether it be adultery or no.

1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 442 Did Christ himself ever assume such a Power, as to alter the Morality of Actions, and to transform Vice into Virtue..by his bare Word?

1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. iii. 51 The..Advantage in this Case, is gained by the Action itself, not by the Morality, the Virtuousness or vitiousness of it.

1840 J. S. Mill Bentham in Diss. & Disc. (1859) I. 387 The morality of an action depends on its foreseeable consequences.

1884 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Huckleberry Finn xxxvi. 368 Picks is the thing, moral or no moral; and as for me, I don't care shucks for the morality of it, nohow.

1960 A. S. Neill Summerhill i. 8 The fuss an authoritarian would have made would have dragged in the question of morality—right and wrong.

1991 E. Lax Woody Allen i. 41 ‘How could you ask for five pennies for a counterfeit nickel? That's terrible.’ And I was unfazed by it. The consequences or the morality of it never crossed my mind for a second.

Compounds

C1.

morality play n. now chiefly historical a kind of drama popular in the 15th and early 16th centuries, intended to inculcate a moral or spiritual lesson, in which the chief characters are personifications of abstract qualities; also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > morality play

moral playc1528

moral1578

morality1765

morality play1866

1866 Harper's Mag. Oct. 627/1 In these many of the personages of the ‘miracle’ and ‘morality’ plays—as King David, Moses, Justice, Truth, etc.—appeared in a kind of carnival.

1885 W. Blades Acct. German Morality-play p. x This morality-play..strongly attracted my attention..especially as the subject, I believe, is new to English literature.

1912 W. Browne Everywoman p. v ‘Everywoman’..is fashioned after the model of the ancient morality plays.

1975 Times 18 Aug. 6/4 Mr Amis purported to give us a morality play... He was concerned with our blurring of right and wrong.

C2. attributive. Canadian. Designating or belonging to a police unit dealing with crimes involving prostitution, pornography, etc. Esp. in morality police, morality squad.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > branch or part of police force > specific

water1552

armed police1787

special police1804

detective force1849

traffic police1883

vice squad1905

drug squad1913

blue force1920

ghost squad1922

flying squad1927

Sweeney1936

morality squad1945

courtesy patrol1961

strike force1961

pussy posse1963

drugs squad1965

vice1967

mobile1971

uniform branch1972

uniform1978

NCIS1991

1945 Toronto Daily Star 5 Jan. 3/8 In a ‘hide’ beneath a floor in a house on Kensington Ave, Plainclothesmen John J. Mullin and David Jarvis of the morality squad seized 32 quarts of whiskey..early today.

1963 J. N. Harris Weird World Wes Beattie (1964) x. 119 He called an acquaintance on the morality squad of the Ontario Provincial Police in order to get the low-down on the obscene film racket.

1970 Toronto Daily Star 24 Sept. 7/5 Man appears to need some censorship to protect himself from his baser tastes. I trust the morality squad will continue its good work.

1975 Sunday Sun (Toronto) 18 May 3 Foster, 26, is charged with keeping a common bawdy house, following a raid by Ottawa morality police last December.

1991 L. Shorten Without Reserve iv. 100 I didn't in a million years think that, while I was transporting this plant [sc. marijuana], this granddaughter would phone the morality squad.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	morality
释义	moralityn. Brit. /məˈralᵻti/, U.S. /məˈrælədi/, /mɔˈrælədi/ Forms: Middle English morallite, Middle English moralte, Middle English moraltee, Middle English–1500s moralite, Middle English–1500s moralitee, Middle English–1500s moralyte, Middle English–1500s moralytee, Middle English–1600s moralitie, 1500s morallytie, 1500s moralytye, 1500s– morality, 1600s morallity. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French moralité. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman moralité moral treatise, symbolism, interpretation and Middle French moralité (12th cent. in Old French in sense ‘moral treatise, moral teaching’; 13th cent. in sense ‘moral interpretation which an author or reader takes from a literary work’; late 13th cent. in sense ‘moral character, ethical value’; 1601 in French in sense ‘positive or negative value of a person's behaviour in relation to moral standards’) < post-classical Latin moralitas human nature (4th cent.), moral character, moral behaviour (4th cent.; from 11th cent. in British sources), moral interpretation of a text (4th cent.; from 12th cent. in British sources), moral rectitude (from 7th cent. in British sources), moral philosophy (mid 13th cent. in a British source) < classical Latin mōrālis (see moral adj.) + -tās (see -ty suffix¹; compare -ity suffix). Compare Italian moralità (early 14th cent.), Spanish moralidad (1413), Old Occitan moralitat (15th cent.), Portuguese moralidade (16th cent.).In sense 6b apparently adopted in the 18th cent. from French literary historians (attested in this sense from 1426 in Middle French); compare earlier moral n. 5a) and moral play n. at moral adj. Compounds 2. Compare Old Occitan moralitat (1495 in this sense). †1. Ethical wisdom, knowledge of moral science. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] > knowledge of or devotion to moralityc1375 ethicism1782 ethicalism1866 c1375 G. Chaucer Monk's Tale 3687 A maister hadde this emperour To teche hym lettrure and curteisye; For of moralitee he [sc. Seneca] was the flour. a1450 J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 842 Though a man..Of Tullyus hadde the sugred eloquence, Or of Senek the greet moralitee. c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) cxcvii. 4 (MED) Gowere and Chaucere..Superlative as poetis laureate In moralitee and eloquence ornate. a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) 20831 The cheif matres of all moralitie, Historiographe of halie kirk is he. †2. In plural. Moral qualities or endowments. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > morality > [noun] > moral qualities or endowments moralitiesc1390 moralsa1625 c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 462 For sothe o manere gentrye is for to preise that apparailleth mannes corage with vertues and moralitees [v.r. moraliteis]. 1583 A. Nowell et al. True Rep. Disput. E. Campion sig. Dd4 The wise men of the Gentiles did alledge their moralities as a cause of their election. 1684 Z. Cawdrey Certainty Salvation 26 A person..of such eminent Moralities and Intellectuals. 1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I xx. 13 Neglect, indeed, requires a saint to bear it, And such, indeed, she was in her moralities. 3. a. Moral virtue; behaviour conforming to moral law or accepted moral standards, esp. in relation to sexual matters; personal qualities judged to be good.Occasionally used in Theology with reference to natural moral virtues as distinguished from the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Cf. moral virtue n. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] philosophy1340 ethica1387 moralityc1390 ethics?a1425 moral philosophyc1443 morals?1566 moral science1656 moral sciences1656 ethology1696 aretaics1865 meta-ethics1938 the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > in moral aspect governmentc1450 manners1589 morality1616 moralsa1625 society > morality > virtue > [noun] > conduct governancea1393 good-doing1499 wealc1500 manners1578 morality1616 c1390 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale 3180 For he shal fynde ynowe grete and smale Of storial thyng that toucheth gentillesse, And eek moralitee and holynesse. c1395 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 2046 A lord of his meynee That loued vertuous moralitee. c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 155 (MED) For it her conuersacioun schal not be maad the worse moralli, or ellis not aȝens notable, good, vertuose moralte. c1520 in Terens in Eng. Prol. sig. A.i Except master Gowre which furst began And of moralite wrote ryght craftely. 1596 E. Coote Eng. Schoole-maister 87/2 Moralitie, ciuill behauiour. 1616 B. Jonson Epicœne iii. i, in Wks. I. 553 Goe to, behaue your selfe distinctly, and with good moralitie . View more context for this quotation 1657 T. Wall Comment on Times 59 It is hatred of sin makes them so malicious: It is separation from the wicked that makes them void of Christian society, and common Morality. a1699 E. Stillingfleet Sermon in Wks. (1710) I. viii. 117 They [sc. the Jews] had the purity of his ordinances,..whereas all others, they thought, served God only with their own Inventions, or placed their Religion in dull morality. 1791 Bp. G. Horne Charge to Clergy 14 And here, by Religion is to be understood the Christian Religion; and by Morality, such good works as are independent of it. 1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park I. ix. 192 We do not look in great cities for our best morality . View more context for this quotation 1824 J. Hogg Private Mem. Justified Sinner 214 The most popular of all their preachers of morality. 1824 J. Hogg Private Mem. Justified Sinner 216 It was easy to see that the true Gospel preachers joined all on one side, and the upholders of pure morality and a blameless life on the other. 1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith i. 19 Justice, truth, love, duty, virtue—in one word, morality. 1878 R. W. Dale Lect. Preaching (ed. 3) viii. 243 There may be morality where there is no religion; but that there should be religion where there is no morality, is impossible. 1897 H. Tennyson Alfred Ld. Tennyson: Mem. I. xviii. 337 Some of his [sc. Ld. Tennyson's] talk was..roughly noted down: ‘Evil must come upon us headlong, if morality tries to get on without religion.’ 1963 Philos. Rev. 72 520 Morality has or ought to have its fandom. 1989 B. Paris Louise Brooks ii. xii. 305 The normally more tolerant arbiters of morality thought it indecent for a father and son to vie sexually for the same woman. †b. humorous or ironic. A person who habitually assumes an air of virtue. Also used as a mock title with possessive adjective. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1672 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd i., in Wks. (1875) III. 98 I am resolved, instead of his Grace, to call him alwayes his Morality. 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in London III. iv. 138 I suspect that his own son, young Morality, will require a little of his parental inspection. 4. a. Moral discourse or instruction; a moral lesson or exhortation. Also: the action or an act of moralizing. ΚΠ c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 38 If that yow list to heere, Moralite and vertuous matere. a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) 22 (MED) Canterbury talys..Some of desport, some of moralite. 1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xi. 39 They fayned no fable without reason, For reasonable is al theyr moralitie. 1526 Pylgrimage of Perfection (de Worde) f. 5 We haue not taken theyr errours..but all moralytees and instruccyons of good maner and pollicy. 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xix. 205 But whensoeuer by your similitude ye will seeme to teach any moralitie or good lesson [etc.]. 1625 T. Hawkins (title) Odes of Horace.., contayning much morallity, and sweetnesse. 1659 R. Boyle Some Motives & Incentives to Love of God 133 The excellent Moralities, couch'd in those ingenious Emblems. a1704 T. Brown Walk round London in 3rd Vol. Wks. (1708) iii. 37 We pop'd into Old Man's just as I had ended my Morality. 1839 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe II. v. 303 Too often he [sc. Hunnis] falls into trivial morality. 1841 I. D'Israeli Amenities Lit. I. 285 The Confessio Amantis..; a singular miscellany of allegory, of morality, and of tales. 1877 M. Oliphant Makers of Florence (ed. 2) iii. 68 Quaint monkish moralities and scriptural quotations. 1889 J. Ruskin Præterita III. iv. 147 What is only a dream in Chaucer, becomes to us, understood from Scott, a consummate historical morality and truth. 1907 G. B. Shaw Major Barbara i in John Bull's Other Island 209 Your Christmas card moralities..are of no use to me. 1988 M. Warner Lost Father viii. 75 Not for him the cynical moralities of Pauson, who presented humanity worse than it is. †b. A moral of a fable, event, etc.; the moral interpretation or sense of a text or passage. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > serious saying, dictum > [noun] > moral moralityc1390 moralc1528 affabulation1641 prudential1719 moralism1836 maxim1883 c1390 G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale 4630 But ye that holden this tale a folye,..Taketh the moralitee goode men. 1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) 1560 Yf yt lyke on-to moralyte To draw ye names of the progenytours Of marye. c1475 (?c1440) J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep (Harl.) in Select. Minor Poems (1840) 117 Of this fable..If ye list, take the moralite! ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry Prol. sig. A^v But who that redeth in the boke of the moralyties of the chesse shall therby perceyue: that [etc.]. 1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages (title page) With ane Moralitie efter euerie Doctouris Tale, and siclike efter the Emprice Tale. 1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxi. 23 Orpheus, whose sweet Harpe..Intised Trees, and Rocks, to follow him along: Th' moralitie of which, is that [etc.]. 1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. iii. at Aglaia The morallity of this inuention was to expresse the cheerfull conuersation which ought to be amongst friends. †c. Moral truth or significance. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer v. 98 Tony. Ecod, mother, all the parish says you have spoiled me, and so you may take the fruits on't... Hard. There's morality, however, in his reply. 5. a. In plural. Points of ethics; moral principles or rules. ΘΚΠ society > morality > [noun] > principle(s) moralitiesc1400 principle?1533 ethic1659 the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] > moral principles or moral law moralitiesc1400 moral law1609 ethic1659 philosophy1727 natural law1899 c1400 Omnis Plantacio (Egerton) l. 2725 in Wks. Lollard Preacher (2001) 131 For as Crist myȝte not, so he dissoluede no such lawe, but perfourmede hem and declaride þe ful perfeccioun of þe moraltees of þe oold lawe. 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Yy1^v Wherin they ought to haue handled Custome, Exercise, Habit, Educacion [etc.]: theis as they haue determinate vse, in moralityes, from these the mind suffereth. 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 447. ¶4 If we consider attentively this Property of Human Nature, it may instruct us in very fine Moralities. a1854 H. Reed Lect. Eng. Lit. (1855) xii. 405 The letters of Lord Chesterfield make a book of the minor moralities, and the major immoralities of life. 1861 J. S. Mill Utilitarianism v. 89 The moralities which protect every individual from being harmed by others. 1884 S. Cox Miracles 18 The fundamental moralities of the ‘Ten Words’. a1911 D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) I. xiv. 241 Once you've climbed up among the successful people you can afford to indulge—in moderation—in practicing the good old moralities. 1971 W. Stegner Angle of Repose i. i. 15 I am much of what my parents and especially my grandparents were—..transmitted prejudices, culture, scruples, likings, moralities, and moral errors that I defend as if they were personal and not familial. b. The branch of knowledge concerned with right and wrong conduct, duty, responsibility, etc.; moral philosophy, ethics. ΚΠ 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Rr2^v The end of Moralitie, is to procure the Affections to obey Reason, and not to inuade it. View more context for this quotation 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. xi. 256 Upon this ground it is, that I am bold to think, that Morality is capable of Demonstration, as well as Mathematicks [printed Methematicks]. 1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. vii. 129 The Learning of this People..consisting only in Morality, History, Poetry and Mathematicks. 1785 T. Jefferson Let. 19 Aug. in Papers (1953) VIII. 407 In morality read Epictetus, Xenophontis memorabilia, Plato's Socratic dialogues, Cicero's philosophies. 1841 M. Elphinstone Hist. India I. ii. v. 237 Principles..on which every theory in physics and every maxim in morality depends. 1990 Times Educ. Suppl. 4 May A22/1 Mrs Thatcher questions the need for a special subject called ‘morality’. c. A particular moral system or outlook; moral thought or conduct in relation to a particular form of activity. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] > particular system of ethics1651 morality1680 1680 Bp. G. Burnet Some Passages Life Rochester (1692) 38 The two maxims of his morality were, that [etc.]. 1695 J. Locke Reasonableness Christianity (1696) 271 He that shall collect all the Moral Rules of the Philosophers..will find them to come short of the Morality delivered by our Saviour. 1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxxi. 261 He soon experienced, that the principles of honour and integrity, which might regulate the ordinary conduct of Constantius, were superseded by the loose doctrines of political morality. 1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. ii. 33 The morality of the Gospel had a direct influence upon the politics of the age. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 26 Sept. 8/1 In these days of lying advertisements, when ‘commercial morality’ has become almost synonymous with ordinary immorality. 1907 H. Zimmern tr. F. Nietzsche Beyond Good & Evil ix. 227 In a tour through the many finer and coarser moralities which have hitherto prevailed or still prevail on the earth, I found certain traits recurring regularly together. 1975 Weekend Mag. (Montreal) 22 Nov. 8/1 Probing the murky waters of the so-called Harborgate affair was not the media's finest hour; nor, however, is it a stirring chapter in the history of political morality in this country. 1989 M. Moffatt Coming of Age in New Jersey v. 204 Over half the women writers and about half the men argued or assumed that women and men should follow different sexual moralities. d. The ethical aspect of a question. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] > ethical aspect of a question morale1814 morality1836 1836 W. E. Channing in Princeton Rev. Apr. 286 It leaves the morality of the question just where it was. 1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xii. 252 The morality of the question is easily summed up. 2002 www.aldenchronicles.com 5 Apr. (O.E.D. Archive) That in turn leads us to the slippery slope, rationing and making decisions about life and death apart from the morality of the question. 6. a. A literary or artistic work expounding or inculcating a moral lesson; †a moralizing commentary, a moral allegory (obsolete). Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > [noun] > moralizing moralityc1475 c1475 (?c1440) J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep (Harl.) in Select. Minor Poems (1840) 117 The moralite of the hors, the goose, and the sheepe, translated by Dan Johne Lidgate. 1494 Loutfut MS f. 18, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Moralite(e And Ysop sais in his moraliteis at the haris assemblit anys to gider. 1599 F. Thynne Animaduersions (1875) 28 Molinet, the frenche auctor of the moralytye vppon the Romante of the roose. 1627 M. Drayton Moone-calfe in Battaile Agincourt 176 (margin) The morallity of mother Bumbyes tale. 1912 Dict. National Biogr. at Frith, William Powell Frith made two ill-advised attempts to rival Hogarth. The first of these moralities, ‘The Road to Ruin’, in five scenes, was at Burlington House in 1878. b. = morality play n. at Compounds 1. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > morality play moral playc1528 moral1578 morality1765 morality play1866 1765 T. Percy Reliques I. 123 The writers of these Moralities were upon the very threshold of real Tragedy and Comedy. 1773 (half-title to reprint of J. Skot's ed.) Everyman. A Morality. 1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iii. ii. 113 When the mysteries ceased to be played, the subjects for the drama were not taken from historical facts, but consisted of moral reasonings in praise of virtue and condemnation of vice, on which account they were called moralities. 1858 R. A. Vaughan Ess. & Remains I. 55 In one of our old English Moralities, the seven cardinal virtues are represented as besieged by the seven deadly sins. 1909 M. E. Albright Shakesperian Stage 147 The Elizabethan stage..was little more than a union of the old sedes and plateæ of the moralities, or the propertied and unpropertied stages of the interludes. 1933 H. Walpole Vanessa iii. vii. 637 A wind of insecurity blew through the theatre that night. The actors seemed like figures in a Morality. 1986 Daily Tel. 2 Mar. 15/3 This little morality—Mr Wood's third and sourest play about movie people—develops insufficient interest in its three characters..to make enthralling theatre. 7. a. Conformity of an idea, practice, etc., to moral law; moral goodness or rightness. ΘΚΠ society > morality > virtue > [noun] virtuec1230 morality1593 moralness1637 squareness1642 principledness1954 1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 104 Oh, that learning were euer married to such discretion;..contention to such moralitie. 1693 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. III. 260 The Good Man represents the Morality of his Nature. 1715 J. Addison Freeholder No. 6. ⁋7 Euripides..tho' famous for the morality of his plays, had introduced a person, who, being reminded of an oath he had taken, reply'd, ‘I swore with my mouth, but not with my heart’. 1772 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra II. lxviii. 315 Instances..of genius and morality united in a lawyer..are distinguished by their singularity. 1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility III. viii. 162 She was previously disposed, I believe, to doubt the morality of my conduct in general. View more context for this quotation 1902 in C. W. Cunnington Eng. Women's Clothing (1952) ii. 47 The questionable morality of the ‘Pneumonia blouse’... A transparent blouse of muslin and lace with next to no collar. 1988 J. M. McPherson Battle Cry of Freedom xiv. 446 Opponents also questioned the expediency, morality, even the theology of the legal tender bill. †b. Theology. The property of certain enactments of the Mosaic law by which they belong to the moral (as opposed to ceremonial, etc.) law and therefore retain their validity under the Christian dispensation. Cf. moral adj. 5a. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Testament > Old Testament > [noun] > Mosaic dispensation > moral part of > belonging to morality1613 1613 L. Bayly Practise of Pietie (ed. 3) 510 The fourth Commandement, being a morall Law, requireth a seuenth day, to be kept holy for euer. And the moralitie of this, as of the rest of the Commandements, is more religiously to be kept of vs vnder the Gospel, then of the Jewes vnder the Law. 1656 in T. Burton Diary (1828) I. 25 By the Mosaic law, blasphemers were to be stoned to death. The morality of this remains. a1662 P. Heylyn Cyprianus Anglicus (1668) 124 These Doctrinal heads [of Puritanism], being ten in number, related to the indispensible morality of the Lords-day-Sabbath [etc.]. c. The quality or fact of being morally right or wrong; the goodness or badness of an action. Cf. moral adj. 1b. ΘΚΠ society > morality > [noun] morality1643 the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > moral philosophy > [noun] > quality of being morally good or evil morality1643 1643 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce 31 Our Saviour disputes not heer the judicature, for that was not his office, but the morality of divorce, whether it be adultery or no. 1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 442 Did Christ himself ever assume such a Power, as to alter the Morality of Actions, and to transform Vice into Virtue..by his bare Word? 1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. iii. 51 The..Advantage in this Case, is gained by the Action itself, not by the Morality, the Virtuousness or vitiousness of it. 1840 J. S. Mill Bentham in Diss. & Disc. (1859) I. 387 The morality of an action depends on its foreseeable consequences. 1884 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Huckleberry Finn xxxvi. 368 Picks is the thing, moral or no moral; and as for me, I don't care shucks for the morality of it, nohow. 1960 A. S. Neill Summerhill i. 8 The fuss an authoritarian would have made would have dragged in the question of morality—right and wrong. 1991 E. Lax Woody Allen i. 41 ‘How could you ask for five pennies for a counterfeit nickel? That's terrible.’ And I was unfazed by it. The consequences or the morality of it never crossed my mind for a second. Compounds C1. morality play n. now chiefly historical a kind of drama popular in the 15th and early 16th centuries, intended to inculcate a moral or spiritual lesson, in which the chief characters are personifications of abstract qualities; also in extended use. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > morality play moral playc1528 moral1578 morality1765 morality play1866 1866 Harper's Mag. Oct. 627/1 In these many of the personages of the ‘miracle’ and ‘morality’ plays—as King David, Moses, Justice, Truth, etc.—appeared in a kind of carnival. 1885 W. Blades Acct. German Morality-play p. x This morality-play..strongly attracted my attention..especially as the subject, I believe, is new to English literature. 1912 W. Browne Everywoman p. v ‘Everywoman’..is fashioned after the model of the ancient morality plays. 1975 Times 18 Aug. 6/4 Mr Amis purported to give us a morality play... He was concerned with our blurring of right and wrong. C2. attributive. Canadian. Designating or belonging to a police unit dealing with crimes involving prostitution, pornography, etc. Esp. in morality police, morality squad. ΘΚΠ society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > branch or part of police force > specific water1552 armed police1787 special police1804 detective force1849 traffic police1883 vice squad1905 drug squad1913 blue force1920 ghost squad1922 flying squad1927 Sweeney1936 morality squad1945 courtesy patrol1961 strike force1961 pussy posse1963 drugs squad1965 vice1967 mobile1971 uniform branch1972 uniform1978 NCIS1991 1945 Toronto Daily Star 5 Jan. 3/8 In a ‘hide’ beneath a floor in a house on Kensington Ave, Plainclothesmen John J. Mullin and David Jarvis of the morality squad seized 32 quarts of whiskey..early today. 1963 J. N. Harris Weird World Wes Beattie (1964) x. 119 He called an acquaintance on the morality squad of the Ontario Provincial Police in order to get the low-down on the obscene film racket. 1970 Toronto Daily Star 24 Sept. 7/5 Man appears to need some censorship to protect himself from his baser tastes. I trust the morality squad will continue its good work. 1975 Sunday Sun (Toronto) 18 May 3 Foster, 26, is charged with keeping a common bawdy house, following a raid by Ottawa morality police last December. 1991 L. Shorten Without Reserve iv. 100 I didn't in a million years think that, while I was transporting this plant [sc. marijuana], this granddaughter would phone the morality squad. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.c1375
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