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I've always understood ethics to be a standard and morals a measure of adherence to that standard. Don't know if that helps but it doesn't make sense to call them synonyms.

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Well, I was working off the defns that Fallible was using. Here are a couple of fuller defns:

MORAL'ITY, noun The doctrine or system of moral duties, or the duties of men in their social character; ethics.

The system of morality to be gathered from the writings of ancient sages, falls very short of that delivered in the gospel.

1. The practice of the moral duties; virtue. We often admire the politeness of men whose morality we question.

2. The quality of an action which renders it good; the conformity of an act to the divine law, or to the principles of rectitude. This conformity implies that the act must be performed by a free agent, and from a motive of obedience to the divine will. This is the strict theological and scriptural sense of morality But we often apply the word to actions which accord with justice and human laws, without reference to the motives form which they proceed.

ETH'ICS, noun The doctrines of morality or social manners; the science of moral philosophy, which teaches men their duty and the reasons of it.

2. A system of moral principles; a system of rules for regulating the actions and manners of men in society.

Ethiops martial, black oxyd of iron; iron in the form of a very fine powder, and in the first state of calcination.

Ethiops mineral, a combination of mercury and sulphur, of a black color; black sulphuret of mercury.

*EDITORIAL NOTE: possibly a printers error for the word ETHIOPS

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