vir·tue
[vur-choo]
-noun
1.moral excellence; goodness; righteousness.
2.conformity of one’s life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude.
3. chastity; virginity: to lose one’s virtue.
4.a particular moral excellence. Compare cardinal virtues, natural virtue, theological virtue.
5.a good or admirable quality or property: the virtue of knowing one’s weaknesses.
6.effective force; power or potency: a charm with the virtue of removing warts.
7. virtues, an order of angels. Compare angel ( def. 1 ) .
8.manly excellence; valor.
—Idioms
9.by/in virtue of, by reason of; because of: to act by virtue of one’s legitimate authority.
10.make a virtue of necessity, to make the best of a difficult or unsatisfactory situation.