virtu Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun love of or taste for fine objects of art
    connoisseurship; vertu.
  2. noun artistic quality
    vertu.
  3. noun objet d'art collectively (especially fine antiques)

WordNet

Vir*tu" noun
Etymology
It. virtù virtue, excellence, from L. virtus. See Virtue.
Definitions
  1. A love of the fine arts; a taste for curiosities. J. Spence.
    I had thoughts, in my chambers to place it in view, To be shown to my friends as a piece of virtù. Goldsmith.

Webster 1913