merit

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See also Merit, and měřit

Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Middle English merite, from Old French merite, from Latin meritum (that which one deserves, just deserts; service, kindness, benefit, fault, blame, demerit, grounds, reason, worth, value, importance), neuter of meritus, past participle of mereō (I deserve, earn, gain, get, acquire), akin to Ancient Greek μέρος (meros, a part, lot, fate, destiny).

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

merit (plural merits)

  1. Something deserving positive recognition.
    His reward for his merit was a check for $50.
  2. Something worthy of a high rating.
  3. A claim to commendation or reward.
  4. The quality of deserving reward.

Synonyms [edit]

Antonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

Verb [edit]

merit (third-person singular simple present merits, present participle meriting, simple past and past participle merited)

  1. (transitive) To earn or to deserve.
  2. (intransitive) To be worthy or deserving.
  3. (obsolete, rare) To reward.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Chapman to this entry?)

Derived terms [edit]

Related terms [edit]

External links [edit]

Anagrams [edit]