c.1300, "value, worth," from O.Fr.
valour "strength, value, valor," from L.L.
valorem (nom.
valor) "value, worth," from stem of L.
valere "be worth, be strong" (see
valiant). The meaning "courage" is first recorded 1581, from It.
valore, from the same L.L. word. (The M.E. word also had a sense of "worth or worthiness in respect of manly qualities").