arete

Both poems celebrated arete — a Greek virtue which can be translated in English as “excellence” and “success,” but must be understood as a moral characteristic as much as a physical or mental one.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2019

This funky goop, called gloios and thought to contain the essence of arete — valor, excellence — was often funneled into small vials and sold at gyms for medicinal purposes.

From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2016

In doing so, they sacrifice the wallet’s core virtue—what Plato would have called its arete.

From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2015

“The themes of Walt’s need to express his excellence — arete — has been there from the beginning,” Cyrino said.

From Forbes ● Sep. 28, 2013

From this point the route angled steeply upward along a graceful arete of wind-compacted snow that culminated in the South Summit—where I arrived at 11:00 to find a second, even worse bottleneck.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Far below, fast-flowing meltwater cuts a frozen ravine into the glacier; above, on the horizon, the Grandes Jorasses arête, a narrow ridge of rock that separates two valleys, soars with terrifying verticality.

From National Geographic ● Apr. 16, 2023

To determine the arête, or excellence, of something, you have to know what its purpose or function is.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

It is easier to determine the arête of a practical object like a knife than the arête of a person.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

In ancient Greek, the word for virtue was arête, which can also be translated as “excellence.”

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

Scott, to whom this remark referred, had nearly reached the middle of the arête.

From Fordham's Feud by Bertram Mitford