Noun

(obsolete) The inherent power of a god, or other supernatural being.

The inherent power or efficacy of something (now only in phrases).

* 2011 , "The autumn of the patriarchs", The Economist , 17 Feb 2011:

many Egyptians still worry that the Brotherhood, by virtue of discipline and experience, would hold an unfair advantage if elections were held too soon.

(uncountable) Accordance with moral principles; conformity of behaviour or thought with the strictures of morality; good moral conduct.

* 1749 , Henry Fielding, Tom Jones , XV.1:

There are a set of religious, or rather moral, writers, who teach that virtue is the certain road to happiness, and vice to misery, in this world.

A particular manifestation of moral excellence in a person; an admirable quality.

* 1766 , Laurence Sterne, Sermon XLIV:

Some men are modest, and seem to take pains to hide their virtues ; and, from a natural distance and reserve in their tempers, scarce suffer their good qualities to be known [...].

Specifically, each of several qualities held to be particularly important, including the four cardinal virtues, the three theological virtues, or the seven virtues opposed to the seven deadly sins.

* 1813 , John Fleetwood, The Life of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ :

The divine virtues of truth and equity are the only bands of friendship, the only supports of society.

An inherently advantageous or excellent quality of something or someone; a favourable point, an advantage.

* 1719 , :

There were divers other plants, which I had no notion of or understanding about, that might, perhaps, have virtues of their own, which I could not find out.

* 2011 , The Guardian , Letter, 14 Mar 2011

One virtue of the present coalition government's attack on access to education could be to reopen the questions raised so pertinently by Robinson in the 1960s [...].

A creature embodying divine power, specifically one of the orders of heavenly beings, traditionally ranked above angels and below archangels.

* 1667 , John Milton, Paradise Lost , Book X:

Thrones, Dominations, Princedoms, Virtues , Powers; / For in possession such, not only of right, / I call ye, and declare ye now [...].

(uncountable) Specifically, moral conduct in sexual behaviour, especially of women; chastity.

* 1813 , Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice :

though she did not suppose Lydia to be deliberately engaging in an elopement without the intention of marriage, she had no difficulty in believing that neither her virtue nor her understanding would preserve her from falling an easy prey.

Noun

(en noun)

The way something appears when viewed from a certain direction or perspective.

The way something appears when considered from a certain point of view.

A phase or a partial, but significant view or description of something

One's appearance or expression.

* (and other bibliographic particulars) (John Dryden)

serious in aspect

* {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers)

, chapter=4, title= A Cuckoo in the Nest , passage=By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect .}}

* 2009 , (Hilary Mantel), (Wolf Hall) , Fourth Estate 2010, p. 145:

It is Stephen Gardiner, black and scowling, his aspect in no way improved by his trip to Rome.

Position or situation with regard to seeing; that position which enables one to look in a particular direction; position in relation to the points of the compass.

Prospect; outlook.

* (and other bibliographic particulars) (John Evelyn)

This town affords a good aspect toward the hill from whence we descended.

(grammar) A grammatical quality of a verb which determines the relationship of the speaker to the internal temporal flow of the event the verb describes, or whether the speaker views the event from outside as a whole, or from within as it is unfolding.

(astrology) The relative position of heavenly bodies as they appear to an observer on earth; the angular relationship between points in a horoscope.

(Milton)

(obsolete) The act of looking at something; gaze.

* (and other bibliographic particulars) Sir (Francis Bacon)

The basilisk killeth by aspect .

* (and other bibliographic particulars) Sir (Walter Scott)

His aspect was bent on the ground.

(obsolete) Appearance to the eye or the mind; look; view.

* (and other bibliographic particulars) (Thomas Burnet)

the true aspect of a world lying in its rubbish

* (and other bibliographic particulars)

the aspect of affairs

(computing, programming) In aspect-oriented programming, a feature or component that can be applied to parts of a program independent of any inheritance hierarchy.