ethos
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ethos
- /ˈiːθɒs/ UK
- /ˈiθɑs/ US
- /ˈiθoʊs/ US
Where it comes from
From Ancient Greek ἦθος (êthos, “character; custom, habit”). Cognate to Sanskrit स्वधा (svadhā́, “habit, custom”).
noun ethe · ethea · ethoses
- The character or fundamental values of a person, people, culture, or movement. To slip past censors, Chinese bloggers have become masters of comic subterfuge, cloaking their messages in protective layers of irony and satire. This is not a new concept, but it has erupted so powerfully that it now defines the ethos of the Internet in China.
- A form of rhetoric in which the writer or speaker invokes their authority, competence or expertise in an attempt to persuade others that their view is correct.
- The traits in a work of art which express the ideal or typic character, as influenced by the ethos (character or fundamental values) of a people, rather than emotional situations or individual character traits in a narrow sense; opposed to pathos.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: ethical, morality, ethics, moral, ethic, philosophy, nature, principle, mentality, essence, mindset, belief, mind-set, culture, cultural, mind
Translations
Talk about this word "ethos." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ethos. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ethos. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ethos "ethos." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ethos.Cite this
@misc{ethos_2026,
title = {ethos},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ethos},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
