meritoriousadj.n.

Brit.

/ˌmɛrᵻˈtɔːrɪəs/, U.S.

/ˌmɛrəˈtɔriəs/

Forms: late Middle English–1500s meritorius, late Middle English– meritorious, 1500s merytoryous.

Origin: A borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Etymons: Latin meritorius , -ous suffix.

Etymology: < post-classical Latin meritorius (frequent from late 12th cent. in British sources in sense A. 1; < classical Latin meritum merit n. + -ōrius -ory suffix²) + -ous suffix. Compare Middle French meritorieux (a1506), and earlier meritory adj.The 12th-cent. word is distinct fromclassical Latin meritōrius hired ( < merit- , past participial stem of merēre + -ōrius ), which survived into post-classical Latin use with reference especially to prostitution. Sense A. 6 is after the sense of this earlier word.

A. adj.

I. Senses relating to merit.

1. Of an action: entitling a person to reward. Now chiefly (Theology): (of good works, a penance, etc.) entitling a person to reward from God; that produces or accrues merit (†to the agent).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > merit > [adjective] > of actions

meritoryc1390

meritorious1438

well-acted1614

1438 Petition in J. H. Fisher et al. Anthol. Chancery Eng. (1984) 177 So þat by the ferveure and swetnesse of your high deuocion..and by the labours of your seid poure Prest this so nedefull and meritorious work may come to gode effecte.

1458–9 Guildhall Plea & Memoranda Rolls A. 83/2 Send gretyng in oure lord euerlastyng fforasmyche as it is meritorious hele and perfit to euery true xpen [i.e. Christian] mannes soule to sey and witnesse the trouth in euery true matier.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1872) IV. 405 The pilgrimage made to thapostles was more meritorius [L. validior] to the sawle than the faste of ij yere.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1879) VII. 169 Noble men of the realme purchasede of the pope that iourney to be prohibite, and to be chaungede into oþer meritorious dedes.

1531 J. Longland Injunctions in Archaeologia (1888) 47 56 Charyte..without whiche..noo vertue can..be acceptable to almighty god, nor merytoryous to the doer.

a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1957) III. 130 A withering, a shriveling of my flesh with superstitious and meritorious fastings.

1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 88 'Twixt Baroch and Amadavad is intombed Polly-Medinae a Mohumitan Saint, excessively reputed of by the..people; who in way of meritorious pilgrimage flock thither.

1686 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II II. vii. 748 In the precious bloud of this our meritorious and accepted Sacrifice we openly behold the mercy of God.

1851 E. B. Pusey Let. to Bp. of London 130/1 That our due sufferings might be sanctified by His, the Atoning and Meritorious Sufferings.

1856 P. E. Dove Logic Christian Faith vi. §5. 363 Man could not observe the law in any sense of meritorious observance.

1952 R. A. Knox Hidden Stream xiv. 128 The good works done by the heathen were good works done without the grace of Christ; they could not, therefore, be meritorious.

2. Deserving reward or gratitude. Now also more generally: well-deserving; meriting commendation; having merit.In recent use the term is sometimes understood as conferring limited praise, being applied to works regarded as painstaking and comprehensive, rather than original or stylish (for an example see quot. 1905).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > merit > [adjective]

meedful1357

meritoryc1390

meritable?1400

premiablec1475

meritoriousa1513

meriting1605

meritful1660

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > praiseworthiness > [adjective]

loflyOE

herewortha1225

praisablec1350

provablea1382

heryful1382

praisefulc1384

commendablec1386

lowablea1400

allowablec1400

meritable?1400

laudablec1420

thankworthy1421

lovablec1422

thankworth?1426

thanklewe1430

recommendable1477

meritoriousa1513

praiseworthya1538

apprisablec1540

plausible1561

praiseworth1591

applausive1605

allaudable1727

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. cxx Good and merytoryous dedys shulde be holden in Memorye.

a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 7 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) Instead of so great and meritorious a service as they boast they performed to the King,..they did great hurt unto his Title.

1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes ii. iv. 61 in Wks. II My meritorious Captaine..Merit will keepe no house, nor pay no house rent.

1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvii. 153 What Marius makes a Crime, Sylla shall make meritorious.

1773 Parl. Deb. 21 May Mr. Solicitor General then moved, That Robert Lord Clive did, at the same time, render great and meritorious services to this country.

1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxxviii. 586 Revenge was always honourable, and often meritorious.

1817 H. Brougham in Parl. Deb. 1st Ser. 11 July 1442 He had been applied to by the unfortunate and highly meritorious persons..for whose great distress he felt deeply.

1832 H. Martineau Ella of Garveloch vi. 67 His patience had been most meritorious.

1890 H. James Tragic Muse I. viii. 164 That spirit is meritorious; it should be recognized and rewarded.

1905 Athenæum 24 June 774/2 In regard to historical accuracy..the volume is on the whole meritorious.

1928 Daily Express 22 May 10/2 Those in Whitehall may go on thinking there is something extremely meritorious in treating Russia as a diplomatic untouchable.

1986 Sunday Mail (New Delhi) 21 Sept. 3 The Prabha Dutt Memorial Foundation..plans to institute a scholarship for meritorious journalists.

†a. meritorious cause n. (also †cause meritorious) an action or agent that produces a good or evil result by the fact of meriting it. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > types of cause

efficient cause1393

conjunct causec1400

final causec1400

meritorious cause1526

matter1570

deficient cause1581

effectrix1583

formal cause1586

material cause1586

final cause1587

conservant cause1588

efficient1593

effective1610

defective cause1624

proximate cause1641

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. BBBi God is the werker of that sickenesse & peyne,..though man of hymselfe or woman, be the cause merytorious.

1688 J. Bunyan Good News for Vilest of Men 130 Jesus Christ..is the Meritorious Cause of all this.

1703 W. Burkitt Expos. Notes New Test. Luke v. 26 Sin is the meritorious Cause of Sickness.

1828 A. Jolly Observ. Sunday Services 131 The death which He endured was the meritorious cause of our life.

1837 J. F. Russell Let. 18 Nov. in H. P. Liddon et al. Life E. B. Pusey (1893) I. xvii. 407 Newman strongly insisted,..that the Atonement alone was the grand procuring and meritorious cause of our pardon.

1877 Presbyterian Q. & Princeton Rev. July 390 Sinless perfection is..conferred..in equal independence of works, as in any sense either the procuring, instrumental, efficient or meritorious cause.

b. More generally of an action or agent: earning or deserving some specified good or evil. With of. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > dueness or propriety > [adjective] > deserving (good or ill)

wurtheeOE

worthc1175

wrightfula1325

worthy1340

dignec1386

condigna1513

meritorious1561

meriting1605

1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. 1. Pref. Workes meritorious of eternall saluation.

1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. i. sig. Ai^v If he..seame justly meritorious of reproche, we maye worthely imparte treble prayse to a barbarous Turke.

1641 H. L'Estrange Gods Sabbath 136 Which abuse..is I think condignly meritorious of severe punishment.

1679 T. Puller Moderation Church of Eng. xi. 318 The Penances in the Church of Rome, which..are counted Deletory of Sin, and Meritorious of Pardon, our Church doth account no otherwise than Superstitious.

1710 D. Manley Mem. Europe I. ii. 232 Cataline..wou'd do something meritorious of his Promotion.

a1716 R. South 12 Serm. (1717) V. 129 These Practices were satisfactory for Sin, and meritorious of Heaven.

1842 Biblical Repertory Apr. 355 If heresy and schism are sins, it is necessary to speak of them as sins, and meritorious of the displeasure of God.

1909 J. London Chinago in Harper's Mag. July 238/1 They cut off the head of the man that even they..had deemed meritorious of no more than twenty years' imprisonment.

†4. Given in accordance with merit; merited. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > dueness or propriety > [adjective] > that is due > deserved

wurthe?c1225

condign1413

meritory1523

meritorious1535

deserved1552

just1553

earned1559

merited1593

1535 A. Wayte Let. 27 May in Lisle Papers (P.R.O.: SP 3/14/20) f. 23 I Iugge fewe places be where a meritorius benefit may be better collocated.

1597 T. Middleton Wisdome of Solomon Paraphr. i. sig. B3 Gods heauie wrath, and meritorious blame.

1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 456 The Heauens have reducted me to this meritorious reward, and truely deserued.

5. Law (chiefly North American). Of an action, a claim, etc.: having merits, likely to succeed on the merits of the case (see merit n. 6).

ΚΠ

1972 N.Y. Law Jrnl. 22 Aug. 2/1 Defendant has demonstrated..that it has a meritorious defense which raises triable issues of fact.

1987 B. A. Garner Dict. Mod. Legal Usage 356/3 There are no doubt a considerable number of cases in which an unmeritorious defendant escapes and a meritorious plaintiff suffers hardship because of his actions being statute-barred owing to bad advice on the law.

1993 S. H. Bailey & M. J. Gunn Mod. Eng. Legal System (BNC) 472 The costs involved in civil litigation..may prevent a meritorious appeal and they will always be a factor in the risk of litigation.

2000 N.Y. Law Jrnl. (Nexis) 7 Mar. 3 It is a bitter irony that a doctor..can negligently cause harm that leads a person to declare bankruptcy and then use that bankruptcy to obtain a dismissal of a meritorious cause of action.

†II. Other uses.

6. Earning money by prostitution. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

a1637 B. Jonson Timber 318 in Wks. (1640) III Some love any Strumpet (be shee never so shop-like, or meritorious) in good clothes.

B. n.

With the: meritorious people as a class.

ΚΠ

1683 J. Dryden & N. Lee Duke of Guise ii. ii. 18 I will have strict Examination made Betwixt the Meritorious and the Base.

a1704 T. Brown Declam. Praise Wealth in Wks. (1707) I. i. 122 None but the Meritorious shall be Fortunate.

1713 Guardian No. 4. ⁋1 Fame..promiscuously bestowed on the Meritorious and Undeserving.

1824 Lancet 13 Nov. 223/1 We shall..more willingly wreathe a laurel on the brow of the meritorious than expose the machinations of intrigue.

1852 Southern Literary Messenger Oct. 620/2 He is kind, not only to the meritorious and the amiable, but also to the unthankful and the evil.

1991 Classical Rev. 41 525 Wilamowitz who..displayed notable political liberalism, who fought at times for the impoverished, the meritorious and unlucky, the ailing and unrecognised [etc.].

Compounds

† meritorious-equal adj. Obsolete equal in merit.Apparently an isolated use.

ΚΠ

1821 C. Lamb in London Mag. Apr. 362/2 A pair of so goodly-propertied and meritorious-equal damsels.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	meritorious
释义	meritoriousadj.n. Brit. /ˌmɛrᵻˈtɔːrɪəs/, U.S. /ˌmɛrəˈtɔriəs/ Forms: late Middle English–1500s meritorius, late Middle English– meritorious, 1500s merytoryous. Origin: A borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Etymons: Latin meritorius , -ous suffix. Etymology: < post-classical Latin meritorius (frequent from late 12th cent. in British sources in sense A. 1; < classical Latin meritum merit n. + -ōrius -ory suffix²) + -ous suffix. Compare Middle French meritorieux (a1506), and earlier meritory adj.The 12th-cent. word is distinct fromclassical Latin meritōrius hired ( < merit- , past participial stem of merēre + -ōrius ), which survived into post-classical Latin use with reference especially to prostitution. Sense A. 6 is after the sense of this earlier word. A. adj. I. Senses relating to merit. 1. Of an action: entitling a person to reward. Now chiefly (Theology): (of good works, a penance, etc.) entitling a person to reward from God; that produces or accrues merit (†to the agent). ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > merit > [adjective] > of actions meritoryc1390 meritorious1438 well-acted1614 1438 Petition in J. H. Fisher et al. Anthol. Chancery Eng. (1984) 177 So þat by the ferveure and swetnesse of your high deuocion..and by the labours of your seid poure Prest this so nedefull and meritorious work may come to gode effecte. 1458–9 Guildhall Plea & Memoranda Rolls A. 83/2 Send gretyng in oure lord euerlastyng fforasmyche as it is meritorious hele and perfit to euery true xpen [i.e. Christian] mannes soule to sey and witnesse the trouth in euery true matier. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1872) IV. 405 The pilgrimage made to thapostles was more meritorius [L. validior] to the sawle than the faste of ij yere. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1879) VII. 169 Noble men of the realme purchasede of the pope that iourney to be prohibite, and to be chaungede into oþer meritorious dedes. 1531 J. Longland Injunctions in Archaeologia (1888) 47 56 Charyte..without whiche..noo vertue can..be acceptable to almighty god, nor merytoryous to the doer. a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1957) III. 130 A withering, a shriveling of my flesh with superstitious and meritorious fastings. 1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 88 'Twixt Baroch and Amadavad is intombed Polly-Medinae a Mohumitan Saint, excessively reputed of by the..people; who in way of meritorious pilgrimage flock thither. 1686 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II II. vii. 748 In the precious bloud of this our meritorious and accepted Sacrifice we openly behold the mercy of God. 1851 E. B. Pusey Let. to Bp. of London 130/1 That our due sufferings might be sanctified by His, the Atoning and Meritorious Sufferings. 1856 P. E. Dove Logic Christian Faith vi. §5. 363 Man could not observe the law in any sense of meritorious observance. 1952 R. A. Knox Hidden Stream xiv. 128 The good works done by the heathen were good works done without the grace of Christ; they could not, therefore, be meritorious. 2. Deserving reward or gratitude. Now also more generally: well-deserving; meriting commendation; having merit.In recent use the term is sometimes understood as conferring limited praise, being applied to works regarded as painstaking and comprehensive, rather than original or stylish (for an example see quot. 1905). ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > merit > [adjective] meedful1357 meritoryc1390 meritable?1400 premiablec1475 meritoriousa1513 meriting1605 meritful1660 the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > praiseworthiness > [adjective] loflyOE herewortha1225 praisablec1350 provablea1382 heryful1382 praisefulc1384 commendablec1386 lowablea1400 allowablec1400 meritable?1400 laudablec1420 thankworthy1421 lovablec1422 thankworth?1426 thanklewe1430 recommendable1477 meritoriousa1513 praiseworthya1538 apprisablec1540 plausible1561 praiseworth1591 applausive1605 allaudable1727 a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. cxx Good and merytoryous dedys shulde be holden in Memorye. a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 7 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) Instead of so great and meritorious a service as they boast they performed to the King,..they did great hurt unto his Title. 1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes ii. iv. 61 in Wks. II My meritorious Captaine..Merit will keepe no house, nor pay no house rent. 1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvii. 153 What Marius makes a Crime, Sylla shall make meritorious. 1773 Parl. Deb. 21 May Mr. Solicitor General then moved, That Robert Lord Clive did, at the same time, render great and meritorious services to this country. 1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxxviii. 586 Revenge was always honourable, and often meritorious. 1817 H. Brougham in Parl. Deb. 1st Ser. 11 July 1442 He had been applied to by the unfortunate and highly meritorious persons..for whose great distress he felt deeply. 1832 H. Martineau Ella of Garveloch vi. 67 His patience had been most meritorious. 1890 H. James Tragic Muse I. viii. 164 That spirit is meritorious; it should be recognized and rewarded. 1905 Athenæum 24 June 774/2 In regard to historical accuracy..the volume is on the whole meritorious. 1928 Daily Express 22 May 10/2 Those in Whitehall may go on thinking there is something extremely meritorious in treating Russia as a diplomatic untouchable. 1986 Sunday Mail (New Delhi) 21 Sept. 3 The Prabha Dutt Memorial Foundation..plans to institute a scholarship for meritorious journalists. 3. †a. meritorious cause n. (also †cause meritorious) an action or agent that produces a good or evil result by the fact of meriting it. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > types of cause efficient cause1393 conjunct causec1400 final causec1400 meritorious cause1526 matter1570 deficient cause1581 effectrix1583 formal cause1586 material cause1586 final cause1587 conservant cause1588 efficient1593 effective1610 defective cause1624 proximate cause1641 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. BBBi God is the werker of that sickenesse & peyne,..though man of hymselfe or woman, be the cause merytorious. 1688 J. Bunyan Good News for Vilest of Men 130 Jesus Christ..is the Meritorious Cause of all this. 1703 W. Burkitt Expos. Notes New Test. Luke v. 26 Sin is the meritorious Cause of Sickness. 1828 A. Jolly Observ. Sunday Services 131 The death which He endured was the meritorious cause of our life. 1837 J. F. Russell Let. 18 Nov. in H. P. Liddon et al. Life E. B. Pusey (1893) I. xvii. 407 Newman strongly insisted,..that the Atonement alone was the grand procuring and meritorious cause of our pardon. 1877 Presbyterian Q. & Princeton Rev. July 390 Sinless perfection is..conferred..in equal independence of works, as in any sense either the procuring, instrumental, efficient or meritorious cause. b. More generally of an action or agent: earning or deserving some specified good or evil. With of. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > morality > dueness or propriety > [adjective] > deserving (good or ill) wurtheeOE worthc1175 wrightfula1325 worthy1340 dignec1386 condigna1513 meritorious1561 meriting1605 1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. 1. Pref. Workes meritorious of eternall saluation. 1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. i. sig. Ai^v If he..seame justly meritorious of reproche, we maye worthely imparte treble prayse to a barbarous Turke. 1641 H. L'Estrange Gods Sabbath 136 Which abuse..is I think condignly meritorious of severe punishment. 1679 T. Puller Moderation Church of Eng. xi. 318 The Penances in the Church of Rome, which..are counted Deletory of Sin, and Meritorious of Pardon, our Church doth account no otherwise than Superstitious. 1710 D. Manley Mem. Europe I. ii. 232 Cataline..wou'd do something meritorious of his Promotion. a1716 R. South 12 Serm. (1717) V. 129 These Practices were satisfactory for Sin, and meritorious of Heaven. 1842 Biblical Repertory Apr. 355 If heresy and schism are sins, it is necessary to speak of them as sins, and meritorious of the displeasure of God. 1909 J. London Chinago in Harper's Mag. July 238/1 They cut off the head of the man that even they..had deemed meritorious of no more than twenty years' imprisonment. †4. Given in accordance with merit; merited. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > morality > dueness or propriety > [adjective] > that is due > deserved wurthe?c1225 condign1413 meritory1523 meritorious1535 deserved1552 just1553 earned1559 merited1593 1535 A. Wayte Let. 27 May in Lisle Papers (P.R.O.: SP 3/14/20) f. 23 I Iugge fewe places be where a meritorius benefit may be better collocated. 1597 T. Middleton Wisdome of Solomon Paraphr. i. sig. B3 Gods heauie wrath, and meritorious blame. 1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 456 The Heauens have reducted me to this meritorious reward, and truely deserued. 5. Law (chiefly North American). Of an action, a claim, etc.: having merits, likely to succeed on the merits of the case (see merit n. 6). ΚΠ 1972 N.Y. Law Jrnl. 22 Aug. 2/1 Defendant has demonstrated..that it has a meritorious defense which raises triable issues of fact. 1987 B. A. Garner Dict. Mod. Legal Usage 356/3 There are no doubt a considerable number of cases in which an unmeritorious defendant escapes and a meritorious plaintiff suffers hardship because of his actions being statute-barred owing to bad advice on the law. 1993 S. H. Bailey & M. J. Gunn Mod. Eng. Legal System (BNC) 472 The costs involved in civil litigation..may prevent a meritorious appeal and they will always be a factor in the risk of litigation. 2000 N.Y. Law Jrnl. (Nexis) 7 Mar. 3 It is a bitter irony that a doctor..can negligently cause harm that leads a person to declare bankruptcy and then use that bankruptcy to obtain a dismissal of a meritorious cause of action. †II. Other uses. 6. Earning money by prostitution. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ a1637 B. Jonson Timber 318 in Wks. (1640) III Some love any Strumpet (be shee never so shop-like, or meritorious) in good clothes. B. n. With the: meritorious people as a class. ΚΠ 1683 J. Dryden & N. Lee Duke of Guise ii. ii. 18 I will have strict Examination made Betwixt the Meritorious and the Base. a1704 T. Brown Declam. Praise Wealth in Wks. (1707) I. i. 122 None but the Meritorious shall be Fortunate. 1713 Guardian No. 4. ⁋1 Fame..promiscuously bestowed on the Meritorious and Undeserving. 1824 Lancet 13 Nov. 223/1 We shall..more willingly wreathe a laurel on the brow of the meritorious than expose the machinations of intrigue. 1852 Southern Literary Messenger Oct. 620/2 He is kind, not only to the meritorious and the amiable, but also to the unthankful and the evil. 1991 Classical Rev. 41 525 Wilamowitz who..displayed notable political liberalism, who fought at times for the impoverished, the meritorious and unlucky, the ailing and unrecognised [etc.]. Compounds † meritorious-equal adj. Obsolete equal in merit.Apparently an isolated use. ΚΠ 1821 C. Lamb in London Mag. Apr. 362/2 A pair of so goodly-propertied and meritorious-equal damsels. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adj.n.1438
随便看	antiarian antiarin antiarins antiaristocrat antiaristocratic antiarmour antiars antiarthritic antiarthritics antiartistic antiassociation antiasthmatic antiastronomical antiathanasian antiatheism antiatheist antiathenian antiatom antiatoms antiatrophic antiattrition antiaustrian antiauthority antiauxin antiauxins