meritorious

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin meritōrius (“entitling to reward”) with the suffix -ous,^[2][3][4] a word frequent in British sources from the late 12th century, formed from meritum (“merit”) and -ōrius.^[2] The OED keeps it apart from classical Latin meritōrius (“hired”), formed from the past participle stem of mereō (“to earn”), which in later Latin was used especially of prostitution.^[2] Etymonline, Klein and the American Heritage Dictionary derive the English word from that classical adjective, "that for which money is paid, that by which money is earned",^[5][6][7] from meritus, the past participle of the verb,^[5][6][8] and Etymonline traces the verb to Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to get a share of something”).^[5] Compare Middle French meritorieux (before 1506) and the earlier English meritory.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of an action, entitling a person to reward: 1438, in a petition in the Chancery records.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to the early 15th century, as "deserving of divine grace".^[5] The Middle English Dictionary's quotations, from a translation of Higden, speak of pilgrimages and other deeds as meritorious for the soul.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The word began in theology, for good works or penances that earn a reward from God, and that is still its chief use there.^[2][8] From before 1513, in Fabyan's chronicle, it also meant deserving reward or gratitude, and then more generally praiseworthy;^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to the late 15th century, in Caxton.^[5] An obsolete sense, given in accordance with merit, ran from 1535 to 1632,^[2] and Ben Jonson used the word before 1637 for earning money by prostitution, after the classical Latin sense.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "deserving of reward; high in desert".^[10] Since 1972 North American lawyers have used it of a claim likely to succeed on its merits.^[2] In Worcestershire dialect, a meritorious lie was one that had some show of reason or excuse.^[11]

Timeline

• 1438 – of an action, entitling a person to reward, especially from God.^[2]
• before 1513 – deserving reward or gratitude; praiseworthy.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to the late 15th century.^[5]
• 1535 – given according to merit (obsolete by 1632).^[2]
• before 1637 – earning money by prostitution (obsolete).^[2]
• 1683 – noun, the meritorious, deserving people as a class.^[2]
• 1972 – in North American law, of a claim, likely to succeed on its merits.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Deserving praise, reward or honour; praiseworthy: The nurse was decorated for meritorious conduct during the floods.^[12][8][2]
2. (theology) Earning divine favour or reward.^[8][2][3]
3. (law) Of a claim or case: having merit, likely to succeed on its merits (chiefly North American).^[2]
4. (obsolete) Deserving, used with of.^[8][2]

Word family

• meritoriously
• meritoriousness
• unmeritorious

Related words

• merit
• meritocracy
• meretricious
• meritory

Usage notes

Dictionary.com lists meritorious and meretricious as words that are easily confused.^[13]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
12. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House