deservingn.
/dᵻˈzəːvɪŋ/, U.S. /dəˈzərvɪŋ/, /diˈzərvɪŋ/ Desert, merit; = desert n.1
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > dueness or propriety > [noun] > deserving (good or ill)
worthnesseOE
addlingc1175
ofservingc1225
desert1297
ofgoing1340
deserving1388
merita1393
worthiness1395
deservice1480
just desert1548
deservednessa1628
fitness1648
1388 J. Wyclif Psalms vii. 5 Falle Y, bi disseruyng.
1482 Monk of Evesham 37 Aftyr ther olde merytys and deseruynges..holpe..or lettyd.
a1542 T. Wyatt Psalm vi. 81 in Coll. Poems (1969) Chastyse me not for my deserving, Acordyng to thy just conceyv'd Ire.
1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 94 Striving to make knowne his better deserving.
1729 C. Cibber Love in Riddle ii. ii. 36 My weak Praise would wrong his full Deservings.
1814 J. West Alicia de Lacy I. 181 Was he, indeed..ignorant of his own deserving?
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. iii. 117 Ah! that he could..reward the proud according to his deservings.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
deservingadj.
/dᵻˈzəːvɪŋ/, U.S. /dəˈzərvɪŋ/, /diˈzərvɪŋ/ a. That deserves (good, ill, etc.); used contextually with either sense implied; but esp. in a good sense, meritorious, worthy. Esp. in deserving poor.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > poor person > those who merit relief
deserving poor1576
society > morality > dueness or propriety > [adjective] > deserving (good or ill) > deserving by merit
worthyOE
worthc1175
well worthyc1390
well-deserving1545
deserving1576
desertful1583
desertive1596
deserveda1616
well-deserveda1616
1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in Panoplie Epist. 117 Your meritorious and wel deserving behaviour.
a1627 T. Middleton et al. Widdow (1652) i. i. 5 To the deservingst of all her Sex.
1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe v. 77 Cease to grieve, And, for a more deserving Husband, live.
1680 T. Otway Orphan ii. i 12 Courts are the places..Where the deserving ought to rise.
1801 Observer 29 Nov. 4/2 [The bill] proposed to enable Overseers to relieve the deserving Poor.
1828 G. W. Bridges Ann. Jamaica II. xv. 224 Severer punishment upon the deserving culprits.
a1897 Mod. The problem of the relief of the deserving poor.
1971 B. Inglis Poverty & Industr. Revol. i. 17 The deserving poor had been issued with small badges which served as a kind of begging licence.
b. Const. of (rarely omitted).
ΚΠ
1769 O. Goldsmith Rom. Hist. II. 259 He was highly deserving this distinction.
1813 J. Thomson Lect. Inflammation 171 Observations the more deserving of your attention.
1855 J. S. C. Abbott Hist. Napoleon II. xii. 206 They all appeared deserving his attention.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 405 Delinquents..deserving of exemplary punishment.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1388
adj.1576