ethos

n. (Anthropology) characteristic nature of a people or community or era; natural disposition of a people or community

Ethos (plurals: ethe, ethea) is a Greek word originally meaning "accustomed place" (as in "the habitat of horses", Il. 6.511) "custom, habit" that can be translated into English in different ways. Some possibilities are 'starting point', 'to appear', 'disposition' and from there, 'character'. From the same Greek root originates the word ethikos , meaning "moral, showing moral character", loaned into late Latin as ethicus, the feminine of which (ethica, for "moral philosophy"), via Old French ethique, Middle English ethik, is the origin of the modern English word ethics.In rhetoric, ethos is one of the three artistic proofs (pistis) modes of persuasion (other principles being logos and pathos) discussed by Aristotle in 'Rhetoric' as a component of argument. At first speakers must establish ethos. On the one hand, this can mean merely "moral competence", but Aristotle broadens this word to encompass expertise and knowledge. He expressedly remarks that ethos should be achieved only by what the speaker says, not by what people think of his character before he begins to speak. This position is often disputed and other writers on rhetoric state that ethos is connected to the overall moral character and history of the speaker. (cf Isocrates).
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Noun
1. (anthropology) the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era; "the Greek ethos"
(hypernym) attribute
(classification) anthropology

n. ethos, characteristic nature of a people or community

n. ethos, characteristic nature of a people or community