vertus









vertus


noun

  1. virtu.

noun

  1. excellence or merit in objects of art, curios, and the like.
  2. (used with a plural verb) such objects or articles collectively.
  3. a taste for or knowledge of such objects.

noun

  1. a variant spelling of virtu

noun

  1. a taste or love for curios or works of fine art; connoisseurship
  2. such objects collectively
  3. the quality of being rare, beautiful, or otherwise appealing to a connoisseur (esp in the phrases articles of virtu; objects of virtu)
n.

“excellence in an object of art, passion for works of art,” 1722, from Italian virtu “excellence,” from Latin virtutem (nominative virtus) “virtue” (see virtue). The same word as virtue, borrowed during a period when everything Italian was in vogue. Sometimes spelled vertu, after French, but this is unjustified, as this sense of the word is not in French.

52 queries 0.556