Ethos is a Greek word that means "character" and is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. It is an element of argument and persuasion through which a speaker establishes their credibility, knowledge, and good moral character. Ethos is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric, along with logos and pathos. Some key features of ethos include:

• It emphasizes the speakers credibility and authority, such as their high-ranking position, expertise, or life experience relevant to a particular topic.
• It appeals to the audiences ethics and emotions.
• It is used to convince an audience of the speakers or authors integrity and expertise.

In modern usage, ethos denotes the disposition, character, or fundamental values peculiar to a specific person, people, organization, culture, or movement. Ethos is often at play in speeches, literature, and marketing, such as in advertisements where doctors recommend a product, murder mysteries where the main character is a professional detective, or political speeches where a candidate talks about their relevant experience. In fiction, authors often use a subtler form of ethos when establishing a narrators reliability at the outset of a novel.