merit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈmɛɹɪt/, /ˈmɛɹət/; /ˈmɛɹɪt/, /ˈmɛɹət/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English merite, borrowed from Old French merite (“wages, reward; moral worth”),^[2][3][4] and directly Latin meritum (“a service, benefit; worth, value”), neuter of meritus, past participle of merēre (“to earn, deserve”),^[2][3] from PIE *(s)mer-, to get a share,^[2][3] also seen in Greek méros, part.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Spiritual credit for good works: probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle;^[3] about 1200 in Etymonline.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Etymologically it is that which one deserves, and the Latin word was used of rewards and punishments alike.^[2][5] Spiritual reward is from about 1300,^[2] and worthiness, excellence, from the early 14th century (about 1420 in the OED).^[2][6] The state of deserving reward or punishment is from the late 14th century.^[2][4] The merits of a case, its intrinsic rights and wrongs in law, are from 1569.^[6] The verb, to deserve, is from 1484, in Caxton's Aesop,^[3][2] and in the 15th century also meant to reward.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1200 – spiritual credit.^[3]
• early 14th century – excellence.^[2]
• late 14th century – desert.^[2]
• 1484 – the verb.^[3]
• 1569 – the merits of a case.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Worth or excellence: a work of great merit.
2. A good quality deserving praise.
3. (merits) The intrinsic rights and wrongs of a matter: judge on its merits.
4. (Christianity) Spiritual credit for good works.

Verb

1. To deserve; to be worthy of.

Word family

• meritless
• meritedly
• meritorious
• meritocracy
• meritocrat
• overmerit
• unmeritorious
• premerit

Related words

• demerit
• meretricious
• merited

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press