worthy
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈwɜːði/
- (General American) enPR: wûr'thē, IPA(key): /ˈwɝði/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ði
- Hyphenation: wor‧thy
Etymology 1
From Middle English worthy, wurthi, from Old English *weorþiġ (“"worthy"”), equivalent to worth + -y. Cognate with Dutch waardig (“worthy”), Middle Low German werdig (“worthy”), German würdig (“worthy”), Swedish värdig (“worthy”), Icelandic verðugt (“worthy”).
Adjective
worthy (comparative worthier, superlative worthiest)
- Having worth, merit, or value.
- c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv]:
- These banished men that I have kept withal / Are men endued with worthy qualities
- c. 1626, John Davies, The Original, Nature, and Immortality of the Soul:
- This worthy mind should worthy things embrace.
- Admirable or honourable.
- Deserving, or having sufficient worth.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 5:1–4:
- 1 And I saw in þe right hand of him that sate on the Throne, a booke written within, & on the backeside, sealed with seuen seales.
2 And I saw a strong Angel proclaiming with a loude voice; Who is worthy to open the booke, and to loose the seales thereof?
3 And no man in heauen, nor in earth, neither vnder the earth, was able to open the booke, neither to looke thereon.
4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open, and to reade the booke, neither to looke thereon.
- 1659, J[ohn] M[ilton], “To the Parlament of the Commonwealth of England with the Dominions therof”, in Considerations Touching the Likeliest Means to Remove Hirelings out of the Church. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcombe] for L[ivewell] Chapman […], →OCLC:
- [I]t is a deed of higheſt charitie to help undeceive the people, and a vvork vvorthieſt your autoritie, […]
- Suited; suitable; befitting.
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vi]:
- No, Warwick, thou art worthy of the sway.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 3:11:
- […] whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.
- 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC:
- And thou art worthy that thou shouldst not know / More happiness.
- 1697, Virgil, “The Eleventh Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- The lodging is well worthy of the guest.
- 2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations”, in RAIL, number 948, page 27:
- The station is clearly well looked after, making it a worthy gateway to the resort.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
having worth, merit, or value
|
honourable or admirable
|
deserving, or having sufficient worth
|
Noun
worthy (plural worthies)
- A distinguished or eminent person.
- 1867, Journal of Agriculture, page 108:
- That worthy one day, in our absence, being caught in the act of culpable talpicide, was rebuked by his mistress for disobeying his master's orders.
Related terms
Etymology 2
From Middle English worthien, wurthien, from Old English weorþian (“to esteem, honor, worship, distinguish, celebrate, exalt, praise, adorn, deck, enrich, reward”), from Proto-Germanic *werþōną (“to be worthy, estimate, appreciate, appraise”), from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn, wind”). Cognate with German werten (“to rate, judge, grade, score”), Swedish värdera (“to evaluate, rate, size up, assess, estimate”), Icelandic virða (“to respect, esteem”).
Verb
worthy (third-person singular simple present worthies, present participle worthying, simple past and past participle worthied)
- (transitive) To render or treat as worthy; exalt; revere; honour; esteem; respect; value; reward; adore.
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
- And put upon him such a deal of man,
That worthied him, got praises of the king […]
- 1880, Sir Norman Lockyer, Nature:
- After having duly paid his addresses to it, he generally spends some time on the marble slab in front of the looking-glass, but without showing the slightest emotion at the sight of his own reflection, or worthying it with a song.
- 1908, Edward Arthur Brayley Hodgetts, The court of Russia in the nineteenth century:
- And it is a poor daub besides," the Emperor rejoined scornfully, as he stalked out of the gallery without worthying the artist with a look.
- 1910, Charles William Eliot, The Harvard classics: Beowulf:
- No henchman he worthied by weapons, if witness his features, his peerless presence!
Derived terms
Anagrams
Etymology
From worth + -y, from Old English weorþ.
Pronunciation
Adjective
worthy
Descendants
- English: worthy
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