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

(duties)

That which one is morally or legally obligated to do.

:

*1805 , 21 October,

*:England expects that every man will do his duty .

*

*:Captain Edward Carlisle; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty , cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.

*{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1

, passage=Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour.}}

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist), author=Lexington

, title= Keeping the mighty honest , passage=British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.}}

A period of time spent at work or doing a particular task.

:

Describing a workload as to its idle, working and de-energized periods.

A tax placed on imports or exports; a tariff.

(lb) One's due, something one is owed; a debt or fee.

*1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , (w) XX:

*:Take that which is thy duty , and goo thy waye.

(lb) Respect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage.

*(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)

*:my duty to you

The efficiency of an engine, especially a steam pumping engine, as measured by work done by a certain quantity of fuel; usually, the number of pounds of water lifted one foot by one bushel of coal (94 lbs. old standard), or by 1 cwt. (112 lbs., England, or 100 lbs., United States).