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by virtue of

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vir⋅tue

  [vur-choo]
Use by virtue of in a Sentence
–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 or 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.
Origin:
1175–1225; alter. (with i < L) of ME vertu < AF, OF < L virtūt- (s. of virtūs) maleness, worth, virtue, equiv. to vir man (see virile ) + -tūt- abstract n. suffix

Related forms:
vir⋅tue⋅less, adjective
vir⋅tue⋅less⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. See goodness. 2. probity, integrity.

Antonyms:
1. vice.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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vir·tue   (vûr'chōō)   
n.  

    1. Moral excellence and righteousness; goodness.

    2. An example or kind of moral excellence: the virtue of patience.

  2. Chastity, especially in a woman.

  3. A particularly efficacious, good, or beneficial quality; advantage: a plan with the virtue of being practical.

  4. Effective force or power: believed in the virtue of prayer.

  5. virtues Christianity The fifth of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.

  6. Obsolete Manly courage; valor.


[Middle English vertu, from Old French, from Latin virtūs, manliness, excellence, goodness, from vir, man; see wī-ro- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

virtue 
c.1225, "moral life and conduct, moral excellence," vertu, from Anglo-Fr. and O.Fr. vertu, from L. virtutem (nom. virtus) "moral strength, manliness, valor, excellence, worth," from vir "man" (see virile). Phrase by virtue of (c.1230) preserves alternate M.E. sense of "efficacy." Wyclif Bible has virtue where K.J.V. uses power. The seven cardinal virtues (c.1320) were divided into the natural (justice, prudence, temperance, fortitude) and the theological (hope, faith, charity). To make a virtue of a necessity (c.1374) translates L. facere de necessitate virtutem. [Jerome]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

by virtue of

Also in virtue of. On the grounds of, by reason of, as in By virtue of a large inheritance she could easily afford not to work. [Early 1300s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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