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English word origin

Etymology of ethos

From Ancient Greek ἦθος (êthos, “character; custom, habit”). Cognate to Sanskrit स्वधा (svadhā́, “habit, custom”).

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

The character or fundamental values of a person, people, culture, or movement. · A form of rhetoric in which the writer or speaker invokes their authority, competence or expertise in an attempt to persuade others that their view is correct. · The traits in a work of art which express the ideal or typic character, as influenced by the ethos (character or fundamental values) of a people, rather than emotional situations or individual character traits in a narrow sense; opposed to pathos.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Ancient Greek ἦθος (êthos, “character; custom, habit”). Cognate to Sanskrit स्वधा (svadhā́, “habit, custom”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dʰeh₁-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "ἦθος",
        "4": "",
        "5": "character; custom, habit"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek ἦθος (êthos, “character; custom, habit”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "स्वधा",
        "3": "",
        "4": "habit, custom",
        "tr": "svadhā́"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit स्वधा (svadhā́, “habit, custom”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ἦθος",
      "ἦθος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "स्वधा",
      "स्वधा#Sanskrit"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The character or fundamental values of a person, people, culture, or movement.",
        "A form of rhetoric in which the writer or speaker invokes their authority, competence or expertise in an attempt to persuade others that their view is correct.",
        "The traits in a work of art which express the ideal or typic character, as influenced by the ethos (character or fundamental values) of a people, rather than emotional situations or individual character traits in a narrow sense; opposed to pathos."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "rhetoric"
      ],
      "recordId": "a691b8252745985c6e615976d4c24f9858d4057cc98784f514996c8cccd5947d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2b709988bb5afba0d5733f47dd77fa5d692462b46be77267e5dd5daf5ad9c92d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 268059
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for ethos →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZXRob3M