Etymology Explorer › Ancient Greek

Where does “ἀρετή” come from?

ἀρετή (Ancient Greek) comes from Proto-Indo-European h₂reh₁-, from Proto-Indo-European h₂er- — to fit, to fix, to put together.

ἀρετή (Ancient Greek): goodness, excellence; manliness, prowess, rank,...

Definitions

  1. goodness, excellence; manliness, prowess, rank,...

Ancestry of “ἀρετή”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂reh₁-to think, reason; to arrange
2Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂er-to fit, to fix, to put together

Words derived from “ἀρετή”

  • arete
  • aretaic
  • aretalogy
  • aretaics
  • aretalogist
  • ενάρετος
  • ἐνάρετος
  • ⲁⲣⲉⲧⲏ
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂er- →