moral

From Middle English moral, from Old French moral, from Latin mōrālis (“relating to manners or morals”) (first used by Cicero, to translate Ancient Greek ἠθικός (ēthikós, “moral”)), from mos (“manner, custom”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɒɹəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔɹəl/

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• Rhymes: -ɒrəl

moral (comparative more moral, superlative most moral)

1. Of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behaviour, especially for teaching right behaviour.

   moral judgments;  a moral poem

   • Nathaniel Hawthorne

     She had wandered without rule or guidance in a moral wilderness.

2. Conforming to a standard of right behaviour; sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment.
   • Sir M. Hale

     the wiser and more moral part of mankind

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:

     The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed. They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.

   a moral obligation

3. Capable of right and wrong action.

   a moral agent

4. Probable but not proved.

   a moral certainty

5. Positively affecting the mind, confidence, or will.

   a moral victory;  moral support

• (conforming to a standard of right behaviour): ethical, incorruptible, noble, righteous, virtuous
• (probable but not proved): virtual

• immoral, unethical, corrupt, unscrupulous, amoral, non-moral, unmoral

moral (plural morals)

1. (of a narrative) The ethical significance or practical lesson.

   The moral of The Boy Who Cried Wolf is that if you repeatedly lie, people won't believe you when you tell the truth.

   • Macaulay

     We protest against the principle that the world of pure comedy is one into which no moral enters.

2. (chiefly in the plural) Moral practices or teachings: modes of conduct.

   a candidate with strong morals

3. (obsolete) A morality play.

• (moral practices or teachings): ethics, mores

• golden rule

• moral in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• moral in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• moral at OneLook Dictionary Search

• molar, romal

From Latin mōrālis.

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /moˈɾal/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /muˈɾal/

moral (masculine and feminine plural morals)

1. moral (relating to right and wrong)
2. moral (conforming to a standard of right behaviour)

   Antonyms: immoral, amoral

• amoral
• immoral
• moralisme
• moralment

• moralitat

moral f (plural morals)

1. morals
2. morale

• “moral” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “moral” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “moral” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “moral” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Middle French moral, from Old French moral, from Latin moralis.

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moral m (plural moraux)

1. morale, optimism

moral (feminine singular morale, masculine plural moraux, feminine plural morales)

1. moral

• amoral
• immoral
• morale
• moralisme
• moraliste
• moralité

• mœurs

• “moral” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

From Latin mōrālis.

moral m or f (plural morais)

1. moral (relating to right and wrong)
2. moral (conforming to a standard of right behaviour)

   Antonyms: inmoral, amoral

• moralidade

moral f (plural morais)

1. moral (moral practices or teachings)
2. morale

• “moral” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

moral m (feminine singular morala, masculine plural morai, feminine plural morales)

1. moral

From Latin moralis.

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mu.ˈɾaɫ/
  • Homophone: mural
• Hyphenation: mo‧ral

moral m or f (plural morais, comparable)

1. moral

• moralidade

• “moral” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

• IPA^(key): /mǒraːl/
• Hyphenation: mo‧ral

mòrāl m (Cyrillic spelling мо̀ра̄л)

1. (uncountable) moral

• IPA^(key): /moˈɾal/

From Latin mōrālis.

moral (plural morales)

1. moral (relating to right and wrong)
2. moral (conforming to a standard of right behaviour)

   Antonyms: inmoral, amoral

moral f (plural morales)

1. morals
2. morale

• moralidad
• moralismo
• moralizar
• moralmente

mora +‎ -al

moral m (plural morales)

1. (tree): mulberry

• “moral” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

Loan from French morale via German Moral, used in Swedish in Then Swänska Argus (1730s).

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moral c

1. morale, character
2. moral, moral practices, conduct

   snäv, viktoriansk moral

   strict, Victorian moral

3. a moral, a lesson (of a narrative)

• moralisera
• moralisk
• moralism
• moralist
• moralpanik
• moraltant
• omoral
• sexualmoral

• etik
• karaktär
• sed
• sedelärande
• sedlighet
• uppförande

• moral in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)
• moral in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)