ethic
/ˈɛθ.ɪk/adjective, noun
ethic is spelled E-T-H-I-C: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ethic means “Moral, relating to morals” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ethic?
| Letters | 5: E-T-H-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 14,106th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ethic?
Ethic appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ethic?
- /ˈɛθ.ɪk/
Ethic has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ethic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ethic
- more ethic comparative
- most ethic superlative
- ethick
- ethics plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ethic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Moral, relating to morals.
noun
- 1
A set of principles of right and wrong behaviour guiding, or representative of, a specific culture, society, group, or individual.
The Protestant work ethic.
- 2
The morality of an action.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does ethic come from?
From Middle English etik, from Late Latin ēthicus, from Ancient Greek ἠθῐκός (ēthĭkós).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).