The word arête is actually French for edge or ridge; similar features in the Alps are described with the German equivalent term Grat. See more at Wikipedia.org... Arete (moral virtue) Arete (Greek: ), in its basic sense, means excellence of any kind. The term may also mean moral virtue. In its earliest appearance in Greek, this notion of excellence was ultimately bound up with the notion of the fulfillment of purpose or function: the act of living up to one's full potential.