meritus

Forms

meritus (feminine merita, neuter meritum); first and second declension; superlative meritissimus^[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle of mereō (“to earn, deserve”) used as an adjective.^[1][2][3] De Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Italic *mer-ē- (“to earn”) and, with a query, Proto-Indo-European *(s)mr-eh₁- (“to earn”), cognate with Ancient Greek μείρομαι (meíromai, “to receive one's share”) and Ancient Greek μέρος (méros, “part, share”); its formation is problematic.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus, Captivi: meritam mercēdem dabō, “I'll give him the reward he has earned”.^[1]

Semantic evolution

It is deserved, just or due, as a deserved reward or punishment, and of persons deserving or meritorious, bene meritus is “well deserving”, and Quintilian quotes a speaker who wishes all good to the most deserving Gallio.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a deserved reward.^[1][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Well deserved, just, due.^[1]
2. Deserving, meritorious, bene meritus, well deserving.^[1]

Related words

• mereō
• meritum
• immeritus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill