Meanings
arete1
nounarete (uncountable)
- uncountablehuman sciencesexcellence, goodness; virtue.
All arete is included in justice, Cyrnus.
1962, Lionel Ignacius Cusack Pearson, Popular Ethics in Ancient Greece, page 78 (translating a line from an old text) - uncountablehuman sciencesThe proper state or condition for a human.
arete2
Origin
- Ancient Greekἀρετή
- Englisharete
From Ancient Greek ἀρετή (aretḗ).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀρετή
- ἀρετή (aretḗ)virtue, excellence
Finnish hyve
- hyvevirtue, excellence
Greek αρετή
- αρετή (aretí)virtue, excellence
Hebrew סְגֻלָּה
- סְגֻלָּה (sgulá)virtue, excellence
Indonesian kebajikan, keutamaan
- kebajikanvirtue, excellence
- keutamaanvirtue, excellence
Polish areté
- aretévirtue, excellence
Portuguese areté, aretê
- aretévirtue, excellence
- aretêvirtue, excellence
Russian арете́
- арете́ (areté)virtue, excellence
Tamil அறன், அறம்
- அறன் (aṟaṉ)virtue, excellence
- அறம் (aṟam)virtue, excellence
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
arete. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arete
MLA
“arete.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arete. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “arete,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arete.
Source: arete on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.