merit

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) enPR: mĕrʹĭt, IPA(key): /ˈmɛɹɪt/, /ˈmɛɹət/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmɛɹɪt/, /ˈmɛɹət/ Rhymes: -ɛɹɪt Hyphenation: mer‧it === Etymology 1 === 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. ==== Noun ==== merit (countable and uncountable, plural merits) (countable) A claim to commendation or a reward. (countable) A mark or token of approbation or to recognize excellence. Antonym: demerit (countable, uncountable) Something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward. Synonyms: excellence, value, worth Antonym: demerit (uncountable, Buddhism, Jainism) 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. (uncountable, law) 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. (countable, obsolete) The quality or state of deserving retribution, whether reward or punishment. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== ===== Descendants ===== → Japanese: メリット (meritto) ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English meriten, from Middle French meriter, Old French meriter (“to deserve, merit”) (modern French mériter), from merite: see further in Etymology 1. The word is cognate with Italian meritare (“to deserve, merit; to be worth; to earn”), Latin meritāre (“to earn regularly; to serve as a soldier”), Spanish meritar (“to deserve, merit; to earn”). ==== Verb ==== merit (third-person singular simple present merits, present participle meriting, simple past and past participle merited) (transitive) To deserve, to earn. Synonym: bear (intransitive) To be deserving or worthy. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To reward. ===== Conjugation ===== ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === References === === Further reading === merit (Buddhism) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia merit (Catholicism) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia merit (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “merit”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “merit”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. “merit”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. === Anagrams === Terim, ermit, miter, mitre, remit, timer == Ladin == === Etymology === From Latin meritum. === Pronunciation === === Noun === merit m (plural meric) merit == Romanian == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): [ˈmerit] === Etymology 1 === Borrowed from French mérite. ==== Noun ==== merit n (plural merite) merit ===== Declension ===== ==== Further reading ==== “merit”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026 === Etymology 2 === ==== Verb ==== merit first-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of merita == Swedish == === Noun === merit c a thing that counts to someone's merit (especially in the context of qualifying for a job, position, or the like), (in that context) a qualification, "a" credential ==== Usage notes ==== English merit can partly be considered a false friend. Always thought of as countable in Swedish. ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== meritera === References === “merit”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish) “merit”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish) “merit”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)