ethic
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delicate; like a spirit or fairy: The music has an ethereal quality. | She has an ethereal beauty. 2 poet of the ETHER: the blue ethereal sky → -ly adv
eth·ic /ˈeθɪk/ n a system of moral behaviour: the Christian ethic | The modern ethic seems to be to get as much money as you can without worrying how you get it. | the Protestant work ethic → see also WORK ETHIC
eth·i·cal /ˈeθɪkəl/ adj 1 [no comp.] connected with ETHICS: The article questions the ethical conduct of certain journalists, who are claimed to have used threats in order to obtain interviews. | The doctors' ethical committee decides whether it is morally right to perform certain operations. 2 morally good or right: I won't do it. It's not ethical. | ethical investment
→ opposite UNETHICAL
eth·i·cal·ly /ˈeθkli/ adv 1 in connection with ETHICS: Ethically (speaking), I think the operation was wrong. 2 in a morally good way: I think he has behaved quite ethically.
eth·ics /ˈeθɪks/ n 1 [U] the study of morals: I'm doing ethics in my philosophy course. 2 [U;P] moral rules or principles of behaviour governing a person or group: Whether a country should have nuclear weapons or not should be a question of ethics, not of politics. | The psychiatrist was charged with violating professional ethics by talking about his patients.
E·thi·o·pi·a /ˌiːθiəʊpiə/ a country in northeast Africa on the Red Sea. Population: 66,557,553 (2003). Capital: Addis Ababa. It is the oldest independent nation in Africa.
—Ethiopian n, adj
eth·nic¹ /ˈeθnɪk/ adj 1 of a racial, national, or tribal group: ethnic art/traditions 2 interestingly unusual because typical of such a group: This music would sound more ethnic if you played it on steel drums. | ethnic seasonings to help you produce Thai, American Deep South, and Portuguese dishes
ethnic² n in Britain or the US, a person belonging to a group of a different race from the main group in the country
eth·nic·al·ly /ˈeθnɪkli/ adv in connection with a racial, national, or tribal group: The two peoples are ethnically related.
,ethnic ˈcleansing n [U] the process of removing a group of people from an area because of their race or religion, usually by force, and sometimes by killing them. The phrase became common during the war in Bosnia.
,ethnic miˈnority n a group of people of a different race from the main group in a country
,ethical ˈpride n [U] belief in and loyalty to one's race
eth·no·cen·tric /ˌeθnəʊˈsentrɪk/ adj based on the belief that one's own race, nation, group etc is better and more important than others: He has the ethnocentric idea that the Scots are the most intelligent people in the world. —trism n [U]
eth·nog·ra·pher /eθˈnɒgrəfəʳ  eθˈnɑː-/ n a person who studies ethnography
eth·nog·ra·phy /eθˈnɒgrəfi ‖ eθˈnɑː-/ n [U] the scientific description of the different races of human beings —phic /ˌeθnəˈgræfɪk/ adj —phically /-kli/ adv
eth·nol·o·gy /eθˈnɒlədʒi ‖ eθˈnɑː-/ n [U] the scientific study of the different races of human beings → compare ANTHROPOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY —gist n —gical /ˌeθnəˈlɒdʒɪkəl ‖ -ˈlɑː-/ adj —gically /-kli/ adv
e·thos /ˈiːθɒs ‖ ˈiːθɑːs/ n the set of ideas, or beliefs, or the moral attitudes of a person or group: The company ethos is one of cooperation between all members of the firm. | the public school ethos
eth·yl al·co·hol /ˌeθəl ˈælkəhɒl, ˌiːθaɪl— ‖ —hɔːl/ also etha·nol n [U] tech ordinary alcohol found in alcoholic drinks. It is also used for removing fat and oil. → compare METHYL ALCOHOL
E·tick·et /ˈiː ˌtɪkɪt/ n electronic ticket; a ticket, especially for a plane journey, that is stored in a computer and is not given to you in the form of paper
et·i·quette /ˈetɪket  —kət/ n [U] the formal rules of proper (social) behaviour: medical/professional etiquette → see also MANNERS
Et·na /ˈetnə/ also Mount Etna a mountain in Sicily, southern Italy, which is the highest VOLCANO in Europe. Mount Etna is an active volcano, which ERUPTS every few years.
E·ton /ˈiːtn/ also Eton ˈCollege the best-known English PUBLIC SCHOOL (=an expensive private school) for boys, officially called Eton College and established in the 15th century. Eton is close to the town of Windsor, to the west of London. —ian /iːˈtəʊniən/ n, adj
CULTURAL NOTE Eton is the most famous PUBLIC SCHOOL in the UK, and many important leaders in business and the government were educated there. Men who have been educated at Eton are called 'Old Etonians', and they often want to send their sons to Eton too. As soon as a son is born, some parents 'put his name down for Eton' (=tell the school that they want him to be accepted as a student there).
et·y·mol·o·gy /ˌetɪˈmɒlədi ‖ —ˈmɑː-/ n 1 [U] the study of the origins, history, and changing meanings of words 2 [C] (an account of) the history of a particular word → compare ENTOMOLOGY —gist n —gical /ˌetɪməˈlɒdʒɪkəl ‖ -ˈlɑː-/ adj —gically /-kli/ adv
E-type /ˈiː taɪp/ trademark a type of fast, expensive, British SPORTS CAR made in the 1960s by JAGUAR. E-types were very fashionable cars in the 1960s, and are still regarded as having great style.
EU, the /ˌiː ˈjuː/ the European Union; a political and economic organization, established in 1957 in western Europe under the Treaty of Rome to encourage trade and friendly relations between member countries, and to compete with other strong economic powers. The EU used to be known as the EC (European Community). → see also EUROPE², BRUSSELS, EMU
CULTURAL NOTE After 10 new countries joined in 2004, the number of countries in the EU reached 25, so now the majority of countries in Europe belong to the EU. Several other countries, including Turkey and Romania, are still trying to join. In 2002, a SINGLE CURRENCY (=one type of money for the whole of Europe), called the EURO, was introduced in all but three of the countries that belonged to the EU at that time. The UK decided not to use the Euro, but it may start using it in the future. The main offices of the EU are in Brussels, and people sometimes just say 'Brussels' when they mean the EU. People in the UK are divided in their attitudes towards the EU. Some people, known as EUROSCAPTICS, do not really like being part of the EU or think that the EU should only be concerned with trade, and not with social issues. They do not like the EU making laws that affect Britain. Eurosceptics are afraid that the UK will lose control over its own political and economic affairs, and that the traditional British way of life will gradually be lost and become more European. Eurosceptics are especially opposed to the idea of joining the single currency. Other people, known as 'pro-Europeans' or 'Europhiles', think that the UK should take a more active part in the EU, and should join the Euro. They believe that being in the EU helps British businesses, and will help to make the ECONOMY stronger. These people sometimes disapprovingly call their opponents 'Little Englanders'. A lot of British people, whether they support the EU or not, make jokes about some of the laws that are passed in Brussels. Sometimes newspapers report on what are seen as silly laws, but often these reports are not actually true. For example, newspapers reported that the EU wanted to call British chocolate 'vegetate', because it does not have a very high amount of real chocolate in it. This was not true.
Eu·bank, Chris /ˈjubæŋk, krɪs/ (1966–) a British BOXER who won world CHAMPIONSHIPS at two different weights in the 1990s. He is known especially for dressing in well-made but rather old-fashioned clothes, and for the way he speaks. He has appeared in television programmes about his life and family and on advertisements in which he makes fun of himself.
eu·ca·lyp·tus /ˌjuːkəˈlɪptəs/ n [C,U] a tall tree that produces an oil with a strong smell, used in medicines
Eu·cha·rist, the /ˈjuːkərɪst/ n 1 the holy bread and wine which represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and which people eat and drink in church in a Christian ceremony 2 the Christian ceremony in which people eat holy