Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun, plural mo·ral·i·ties for 4–6.
- conformity to the rules of right conduct; moral or virtuous conduct.
- moral quality or character.
- virtue in sexual matters; chastity.
- a doctrine or system of morals.
- moral instruction; a moral lesson, precept, discourse, or utterance.
- morality play.
noun plural -ties
- the quality of being moral
- conformity, or degree of conformity, to conventional standards of moral conduct
- a system of moral principles
- an instruction or lesson in morals
- short for morality play
late 14c., “moral qualities,” from Old French moralité “moral (of a story); moral instruction; morals, moral character” (13c.) and directly from Late Latin moralitatem (nominative moralitas) “manner, character,” from Latin moralis (see moral (adj.)). Meaning “goodness” is attested from 1590s.
Where there is no free agency, there can be no morality. Where there is no temptation, there can be little claim to virtue. Where the routine is rigorously proscribed by law, the law, and not the man, must have the credit of the conduct. [William H. Prescott, “History of the Conquest of Peru,” 1847]