merit en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈmɛɹɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈmɛɹət/ (General-American)
- /ˈmɛɹət/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- mĕrʹĭt (Received-Pronunciation)
- (General-American) audio
- /ˈmɛɹɪt/ (General-American)
Etymology
From Middle English merit, merite (“quality of person’s character or conduct deserving of reward or punishment; such reward or punishment; excellence, worthiness; benefit; right to be rewarded for spiritual service; retribution at doomsday; virtue through which Jesus Christ brings about salvation; virtue possessed by a holy person; power of a pagan deity”), from Anglo-Norman merit, merite, Old French merite (“moral worth, reward; merit”) (modern French mérite), from Latin meritum (“that which one deserves, deserts; benefit, reward, merit; service; kindness; importance, value, worth; blame, demerit, fault; grounds, reason”), neuter of meritus (“deserved, earned, obtained; due, proper, right; deserving, meritorious”), perfect passive participle of mereō (“to deserve, earn, obtain, merit; to earn a living”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to allot, assign”). The English word is probably cognate with Ancient Greek μέρος (méros, “component, part; portion, share; destiny, fate, lot”) and cognate with Old Occitan merit.
Meanings
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(countable) A claim to commendation or a reward.
[R]eputation is an idle and moſt falſe impoſition , oft got without merit and loſt without deſeruing.
c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], page 36:
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(countable) A mark or token of approbation or to recognize excellence.
Thoſe laurel groves (the merits of thy youth), / Which thou from Mahomet didſt greatly gain, / While, bold aſſertor of reſiſtleſs truth, / Thy ſword did godlike liberty maintain, / Muſt from thy brow their falling honours ſhed, / And their tranſplanted wreaths muſt deck a worthier head.
a. 1722 (date written), Matthew Prior, “An Ode Humbly Inscrib’d to the Queen”, in The Poetical Works of Matthew Prior […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan, […], published 1779, →OCLC, stanza IX, page 275:For her good performance in the examination, her teacher gave her ten merits.
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(countable, uncountable) Something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward.
In all our noble Anglo-Saxon language, there is scarcely a nobler word than worth; yet this term has now almost exclusively a pecuniary meaning. So that if you ask what a man is worth, nobody ever thinks of telling you what he is, but what he has. The answer will never refer to his merits, his virtues, but always to his possessions. He is worth—so much money.
1877, Richard Fuller, “Sermon Thirteenth. The Gospel Stifled by Covetousness.”, in Sermons by Richard Fuller, […] (Second Series), Baltimore, Md.: Published by John F[rederick] Weishampel, Jr.; Philadelphia, Pa.: American Baptist Publication Society; New York, N.Y.: Sheldon and Company, →OCLC, page 244:His reward for his merit was a check for $50.
Such was Roſcommon—not more learn’d than good; / With Manners gen’rous as his Noble Blood; / To him the Wit of Greece and Rome was known, / And ev’ry Author’s Merit but his own.
1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC, page 42:
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(Jainism, uncountable) The sum of all the good deeds that a person does which determines the quality of the person's next state of existence and contributes to the person's growth towards enlightenment.
to acquire or make merit
It is no small tax upon the people to support their [Buddhist] priests, but they do it with a willing heart. When I was once at the old capital, I saw a woman, from her own stock, feed more than fifty priests, who came to her in his turn, and received his portion. [...] If I had asked her why she thus spent so much of her living, her answer would have been, 'To make merit.'
1855 October, “Siamese Merit-making”, in The Church Missionary Gleaner, volume V (New Series), London: Seeley, Jackson and Halliday […], →OCLC, page 118:At funerals, acts of sharing religious merit are central and relatives of the deceased make merit in order to ensure that the departed family member will have a favourable rebirth.
2015, Monica Lindberg Falk, “Communication across Boundaries”, in Post-Tsunami Recovery in Thailand: Socio-cultural Responses (The Modern Anthropology of Southeast Asia), Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 90:
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(uncountable) Usually in the plural form the merits: the substantive rightness or wrongness of a legal argument, a lawsuit, etc., as opposed to technical matters such as the admissibility of evidence or points of legal procedure; (by extension) the overall good or bad quality, or rightness or wrongness, of some other thing.
Even though the plaintiff was ordered by the judge to pay some costs for not having followed the correct procedure, she won the case on the merits.
[I]n most cases once the Court has performed its judicial function – as it had been determined by the parties through their Application or Special Agreement and their submissions – and has rendered its judgment on the merits of the case, a new phrase of functional interaction commences.
2014, Karel Wellens, “Failed Post-adjudicative Negotiations and Returning to the Court”, in Negotiations in the Case Law of the International Court of Justice: A Functional Analysis, Farnham, Surrey; Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate Publishing, →ISBN, part III (Negotiations during the Post-adjudicative Phase), page 311:The Plaintiff muſt ſhew Cauſe either on the Merits, or upon filing Exceptions; if upon the Merits, the Court may put what Terms they pleaſe on him; as bringing in the Money, or paying it to the Parties, ſubject to the Order of the Court, [...]
1740, [Mathew Bacon], “Injunctions”, in A New Abridgment of the Law. By a Gentleman of the Middle Temple, volume III, in the Savoy [London]: Printed by E. and R. Nutt, and R. Gosling, (assigns of E. Sayer, Esq;) for Henry Lintot, →OCLC, section C (How Dissolved), page 177:
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(countable, obsolete) The quality or state of deserving retribution, whether reward or punishment.
Be it known, that we the greateſt are mis-thoght / For things that others do : and when we fall, / We anſwer others merits, in our name / Are therefore to be pittied.
c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 366, column 2:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| merits | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
meritocratic · meritory · meritocrat · badge of merit · meritful · meritous · meritoriousness · overmerit · meritorious · meritable · meritocracy · unmeritocratic · Meritage · meritious · immeritoriously · meritless · meritocratically · immerit · merit-based · merit badging · merit badger · merit-badging · merit field · merit good · unmeritorious · merit badge · immeritorious · meritmonger · figure of merit · meritoriously
Descendants
Relateds
promerit · meretriciousness · meretriciously · meretricious · demerit
Synonyms
worth · value · excellence
Translations (78)
ru заслуга (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · ko 공덕 ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · de Verdienst (claim to commendation or a reward) · mn буян ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · uk заслу́га (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · sh oznaka kvalitete (mark or token of approbation or to recognize excellence) · ar جَدَارَة (claim to commendation or a reward) · sa पुण्य ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · ru достоинство (claim to commendation or a reward) · ru пу́нья ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · ka დამსახურება (claim to commendation or a reward) · sh zasluga (claim to commendation or a reward) · ja 価値 (claim to commendation or a reward) · ko 장점 (claim to commendation or a reward) · pl zasługa (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · pi puñña ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · ro merit (claim to commendation or a reward) · hi क़द्र (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · ml അർഹത (claim to commendation or a reward) · ru заслу́га (claim to commendation or a reward) · fr mérite (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · cs zásluha (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · cmn 功績 /功绩 (claim to commendation or a reward) · ca mèrit (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · pt mérito (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · sl odlika (claim to commendation or a reward) · mk за́слуга (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · hi पुण्य ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · fi ansio (claim to commendation or a reward) · nl verdienste (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · tr liyakat (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · es mérito (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · hi गुण (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · mk за́слуга (claim to commendation or a reward) · fur mert (claim to commendation or a reward) · my ကုသိုလ် ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · sv förtjänst (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · lld merit (claim to commendation or a reward) · sa गुण (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · ml യോഗ്യത (claim to commendation or a reward) · es mérito (claim to commendation or a reward) · km បុណ្យ ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · bg заслуга (claim to commendation or a reward) · ml ഗുണം (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · pl zaleta (claim to commendation or a reward) · bo བསོད་ནམས ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · fi saavutus (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · it merito (claim to commendation or a reward) · ca mèrit (claim to commendation or a reward) · khb ᦢᦳᧃ ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · my ပုည ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · fi hyvä työ (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · eo merito (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · es merecimiento (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · sh zasluga (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · tr liyakat (claim to commendation or a reward) · sv förtjänst (claim to commendation or a reward) · cmn 福德 ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · th บุญ ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · scn mèrutu (claim to commendation or a reward) · scn mèritu (claim to commendation or a reward) · fr mérite (claim to commendation or a reward) · it merto (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · sl vrednost (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · da fordel (claim to commendation or a reward) · lld merit (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · it merito (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · bg качество (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · mk вре́дност (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · hi क़द्र (claim to commendation or a reward) · cmn 功勞 /功劳 (claim to commendation or a reward) · te పుణ్యము ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · fi ansio (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · lo ບຸນ ((Buddhism, Jainism) sum of all the good deeds that a person does) · nl verdienste (claim to commendation or a reward) · la meritum (claim to commendation or a reward) · sl zasluga (something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward) · pt mérito (claim to commendation or a reward)