merit

[ mer-it ]
See synonyms for merit on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. claim to respect and praise; excellence; worth.

  2. something that deserves or justifies a reward or commendation; a commendable quality, act, etc.: The book's only merit is its sincerity.

  1. merits, the inherent rights and wrongs of a matter, as a lawsuit, unobscured by procedural details, technicalities, personal feelings, etc.: The case will be decided on its merits alone.

  2. Often merits. the state or fact of deserving; desert: to treat people according to their merits.

  3. Roman Catholic Church. worthiness of spiritual reward, acquired by righteous acts made under the influence of grace.

  4. Obsolete. something that is deserved, whether good or bad.

verb (used with object)
  1. to be worthy of; deserve.

verb (used without object)
  1. Chiefly Theology. to acquire merit.

adjective
  1. based on merit: a merit raise of $25 a week.

Origin of merit

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Latin meritum “act worthy of praise (or blame),” noun use of neuter of meritus, past participle of merēre “to earn”

synonym study For merit

1. See desert3.

word story For merit

The noun merit first appears in English in the very early 13th century, and the verb much later, toward the end of the 15th century. The noun comes from Anglo-French and Old French merit(e) “reward, moral worth” and Latin meritum “what one deserves, due reward, justification,” a noun use of meritum, the past participle of the verb merēre (also merērī ) “to earn, receive as a reward.” The verb merit comes from Middle French mériter “to reward, deserve” and Latin meritāre “to bring in money (regularly), draw pay as a soldier, serve in the army.”
The earliest English sense of the noun is religious and theological, “the quality of (a person or action) being entitled to a reward from God,” which will be familiar to anyone who attended parochial school. The legal term merits, i.e., “the intrinsic rights or wrongs of a case or matter, without consideration of procedural details, personal feelings, etc.,” dates from the end of the 15th century. The British Order of Merit, an award given to civilians and members of the armed forces, first appears in English in 1799, and is modeled on the Pour le Mérite established by King Frederick II (“Frederick the Great”) of Prussia in 1740.

Other words for merit

Other words from merit

  • mer·it·ed·ly, adverb
  • mer·it·less, adjective
  • half-mer·it·ed, adjective
  • o·ver·mer·it, verb
  • pre·mer·it, verb (used with object)
  • self-merit, noun
  • un·mer·it·ed, adjective
  • un·mer·it·ed·ly, adverb
  • well-mer·it·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for merit

merit

/ (ˈmɛrɪt) /


noun
  1. worth or superior quality; excellence: work of great merit

  2. (often plural) a deserving or commendable quality or act: judge him on his merits

  1. Christianity spiritual credit granted or received for good works

  2. the fact or state of deserving; desert

  3. an obsolete word for reward

verb-its, -iting or -ited
  1. (tr) to be worthy of; deserve: he merits promotion

Origin of merit

1
C13: via Old French from Latin meritum reward, desert, from merēre to deserve

Derived forms of merit

  • merited, adjective
  • meritless, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with merit

merit

see on its merits.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.