From Greek 'ethos' (character) — Aristotle established 'ethike' as the study of how to live well.
The branch of philosophy dealing with moral principles; the moral principles governing or influencing conduct.
From Latin ethica, from Greek ēthika (matters of character, the study of morals), neuter plural of ēthikos (of or relating to character, moral), from ēthos (character, custom, habitual disposition, moral nature). Greek ēthos traces to PIE *swedh- (custom, one's own way of being), from *swe- (oneself) + *dheh1- (to place, set). The root *dheh1- also gives Latin facere (to do) and Sanskrit
Greek had two words spelled almost identically but with different meanings: 'ēthos' (ἦθος, with eta) meant character or disposition, while 'ethos' (ἔθος, with epsilon) meant habit or custom. Aristotle deliberately played on both in his Ethics, arguing that virtuous character (ēthos) is formed through habit (ethos).
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