English
moral
Moral comes from Old French moral, from Latin mōrālis, from mōs ‘custom, manner’, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₁-‘to measure’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mōs‘custom, manner’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōs‘way or manner’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōrālis‘relating to manners or morals’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400moral
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1841same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₁-‘to measure’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mōs‘custom, manner’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōs‘way or manner’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōrālis‘relating to manners or morals’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400moral
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1841same form
Earliest quotation: 1841, Thomas Macaulay: “We protest against the principle that the world of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- ‘to measure’
month, measure, moon, meal, meter, sunny, dimension, immense, metric, metre, meta, mesa, moody, menstrual, asymmetry, commensurate, mensa, madder, metrology, mete, metis, menses, firman, metra, moodiness, 64 more
through Latin mōs ‘way or manner (of behaving)’
through Latin mōrālis ‘relating to manners or morals’
Today it means
adj Of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behaviour, especially conforming to principles of rectitude.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- / moral