moeurs

M3O1E1U1R1S1
UK/mɜː/

A form of mores — A set of moral norms or customs derived from generally accepted practices rather than written laws.

OriginFrench mœurs ← Latin mōrēs →
Scrabble 8
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Meanings

nounmoeurs pl (plural only)
  1. alternativepluralplural onlyAlternative form of mores, a set of moral norms or customs derived from generally accepted practices.

    Georgie was already becoming a little bit bohemian, absorbed into the moeurs of the Pre-Raphaelite world.

    2011, Fiona MacCarthy, The Last Pre-Raphaelite, Faber, →ISBN, page 117
    1 more example

    The historiography suggests the eighteenth century peninsular reformers saw a separation between the state as part of the European realm of moeurs and civilisation, and the Empire as the vast swathes of land that belonged to the monarchy.

    2017, Eduardo Corredera, “Legacies of Conquest: Transnational perspectives on the conquest and colonization of Latin America”, in CRASSH

Origin

  1. Latinmōrēs“ways, character, morals”
  2. Frenchmœurs“ways, character, morals”
  3. Englishmoeurs

From the French mœurs (“ways, character, morals”), from Latin mōrēs (“ways, character, morals”), the plural of mōs. Doublet of mores.

More words from French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

mouseroremus
Cite this entry
APA

moeurs. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moeurs

MLA

“moeurs.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moeurs. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “moeurs,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moeurs.

Source: moeurs on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.