merit means A claim to commendation or a reward. It carries an Arena rating of 1598, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, merit ranks #533 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #740 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #5,381 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #5,450 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words.
merit is pronounced /ˈmɛɹɪt/.
Why “merit” is a great word
The inherent quality of a thing or action that renders it deserving of praise or reward, irrespective of recognition. From Middle English merit, merite (c. 1300), via Anglo-Norman and Old French from Latin meritum ("that which one deserves"), the neuter of meritus ("deserved, earned"), past participle of merēre ("to deserve, earn"). Unlike an "advantage"—a circumstantial position of favor—or a "benefit"—a received positive effect—merit is a core, assessable worth that exists before any prize is conferred. It is the flawless logic of a proof laid out in silence, the unshakeable fortitude of a soldier holding a pointless hill, and the exquisite, unobserved craftsmanship inside a cabinet's locked drawer—a stubborn fact in a world that often rewards only perception.
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
noun
- A claim to commendation or a reward.
- A mark or token of approbation or to recognize excellence.e.g.“For her good performance in the examination, her teacher gave her ten merits.”
- Something deserving or worthy of positive recognition or reward.e.g.“His reward for his merit was a check for $50.”
- 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.e.g.“to acquire or make merit”
- 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.e.g.“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.”
- The quality or state of deserving retribution, whether reward or punishment.
verb
- To deserve, to earn.e.g.“Her performance merited wild applause.”
- To be deserving or worthy.e.g.“They were punished as they merited.”
- To reward.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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