Adjacent Words

Virtu definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

VIR'TU, n. A love of the fine arts; a taste for curiosities.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: love of or taste for fine objects of art [syn: virtu, vertu, connoisseurship]
2: artistic quality [syn: virtu, vertu]
3: objet d'art collectively (especially fine antiques)

Merriam Webster's

or vertu noun Etymology: Italian virtù, literally, virtue, from Latin virtut-, virtus Date: 1722 1. a love of or taste for curios or objets d'art 2. productions of art especially of a curious or antique nature ; objets d'art

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (also vertu) 1 a knowledge of or expertise in the fine arts. 2 virtuosity. Phrases and idioms: article (or object) of virtu an article interesting because of its workmanship, antiquity, rarity, etc. Etymology: It. virtù VIRTUE, virtu

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Virtu Vir*tu" (?; 277), n. [It. virt[`u] virtue, excellence, from L. virtus. See Virtue.] A love of the fine arts; a taste for curiosities. --J. Spence. An article, or piece, of virtu, an object of art or antiquity; a curiosity, such as those found in museums or private collections. I had thoughts, in my chambers to place it in view, To be shown to my friends as a piece of virt[`u]. --Goldsmith.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. [It.] 1. Taste for curiosities, love of the fine arts, dilettanteism. 2. Curiosities, objects of art or of antiquity (taken collectively).

Moby Thesaurus

aesthetics, art, art object, artistic skill, artistic taste, artistry, arty-craftiness, brainchild, bric-a-brac, classic, composition, connoisseurship, creation, design, dilettantism, epicureanism, epicurism, expertise, expertism, flair, friandise, gastronomy, grotesque, kitsch, master, masterpiece, masterwork, mobile, museum piece, nude, old master, pasticcio, pastiche, piece, piece of virtu, stabile, statue, still life, study, talent, virtuosity, work, work of art