English
ethical
Ethical comes from Late Latin ethicus ‘moral, ethical’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-1‘to do’root named by Wiktionary
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἦθος1êthos‘character, moral nature’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἠθικός1ēthikós‘of or for morals, moral, expressing character’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEethicus1‘moral, ethical’
- Englishearliest quotation 2018ethical1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English ethical
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, Tara John, Veganism could get the same legal protections as religion: “An angry dispute between an animal welfare charity and…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-Wiktionary, English ethical‘to do’root named by Wiktionary
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἦθοςWiktionary, English ethicalêthos‘character, moral nature’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἠθικόςWiktionary, English ethicalēthikós‘of or for morals, moral, expressing character’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEethicusWiktionary, English ethical‘moral, ethical’
- Englishearliest quotation 2018ethicalWiktionary, English ethical. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, Tara John, Veganism could get the same legal protections as religion: “An angry dispute between an animal welfare charity and…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
do, fact, hot, deal, fair, defense, fan, benefit, feature, mid, fashion, defence, custom, theme, treasury, treasure, sufficient, defendant, feast, thesis, doom, deed, theology, dis, ethnic, tick, auditorium, aesthetic, auditor, synthetic, atheist, demi, deem, spade, forfeit, atheism, prefect, certify, profanity, feral, 127 more
through Ancient Greek ἦθος ‘character, moral nature’
Today it means
adj Of or relating to the study of ethics.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “ethical”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- / ethical