Definition of "vertu" in English

noun

1. (art, now historical) The fine arts as a subject of study or expertise; understanding of arts and antiquities.

2. (art, now historical) Objets d'art collectively.

3. Especially with reference to the writings of Machiavelli (1469–1527): the requisite qualities for political or military success; vitality, determination; power.

   • All these connotations, even the positive and moral ones, are within the range of significations Machiavelli wants us to hear in “virtù.” For him the word suggests a kind of flexibility that can initiate effective, efficient, and energetic action based on a courageous assertion of the will and an ability to execute the products of one's own calculations. Such calculations are a significant adjunct to his ideas about virtù: they outline what might be called an internal or mental virtù.

4. Moral worth; virtue, virtuousness.