# ethic

Pronunciation: US say "ETH-ik" /ˈɛθ.ɪk/; UK

## Noun

1. A set of principles of right and wrong behavior that guide or represent a particular culture, society, group, or individual.
   - Simple: A set of beliefs about right and wrong that guides a group or a person.
   - _The early hacker community developed an ethic of openness and free sharing._
   - _A samurai lived by a strict ethic that valued honor above personal survival._
2. The moral quality of a particular action, meaning whether it is right or wrong.
   - Simple: The question of whether an action is right or wrong.
   - _Few reporters stopped to question the ethics of publishing the leaked emails._
   - _The committee examined the ethics of using prisoners in medical trials._

## Adjective

3. Relating to morals or to questions of right and wrong conduct. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Having to do with right and wrong, or with moral rules.

## Origin

**Meaning 3** — From Middle English etik, from Late Latin ēthicus, from Ancient Greek ēthĭkós.
**Meanings 1–2** — From Middle English etik or ethik, through Old French ethique and Late Latin ēthica, from Ancient Greek ēthikḗ and ēthikós ("of or for morals, moral"), from êthos ("character, moral nature").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/ethic (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).