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Meritorious. [R.] Beau. & Fl.

To earn by service; to be worthy of (something due, either good or evil); to merit; to be entitled to; as, the laborer deserves his wages; a work of value deserves praise. God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. Job xi. 6. John Gay deserved to be a favorite. Thackeray. Encouragement is not held out to…

Meritoriousness.

Desert; merit. A person of great deservings from the republic. Swift.

A present of books given to a meritorious undergraduate student as a prize. [Harvard Univ., U. S.]

delay in the trial of a cause, generally founded upon some matter not connected with the merits of the case.

ect examination (Law), the first examination of a witness in the orderly course, upon the merits. Abbott. -- Direct fire (Mil.), fire, the direction of which is perpendicular to the line of troops or to the parapet aimed at. -- Direct process (Metal.), one which yields metal in working condition by a single process f…

tc.); to strip; to render destitute; to divest. I am a thing obscure, disfurnished of All merit, that can raise me higher. Massinger.

Figuratively, a worthless thing. And by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust. Shak.

To merit or deserve, as by labor or service; to do that which entitles one to (a reward, whether the reward is received or not). The high repute Which he through hazard huge must earn. Milton.

Being, metaphorically, above others, whether by birth, high station, merit, or virtue; high in public estimation; distinguished; conspicuous; as, an eminent station; an eminent historian, statements, statesman, or saint. Right of eminent domain. (Law) See under Domain.

the English. Clarendon. It is not permitted to me to make my commendations equal to your merit. Dryden. Whose voice an equal messenger Conveyed thy meaning mild. Emerson.

Estimation; opinion of merit or value; hence, valuation; reckoning; price. Most dear in the esteem And poor in worth! Shak. I will deliver you, in ready coin, The full and dear'st esteem of what you crave. J. Webster.

lity of being excellent; state of possessing good qualities in an eminent degree; exalted merit; superiority in virtue. Consider first that great Or bright infers not excellence. Milton.

absence of merit. [WordNet 1.5]

buting arbitrarily or fortuitously the lots of life. 'T is more by fortune, lady, than by merit. Shak. O Fortune, Fortune, all men call thee fickle. Shak.

men have all sprung from Adam, and often go from good to bad, and from bad to worse; the merit of an action depends on the principle from which it proceeds; men judge of facts from personal knowledge, or from testimony. Experience from the time past to the time present. Bacon. The song began from Jove. Drpden. From hi…

ollowed especially by for. All quality that is good for anything is founded originally in merit. Collier.

pense; conferred without valuable consideration; granted without pay, or without claim or merit; not required by justice. We mistake the gratuitous blessings of Heaven for the fruits of our own industry. L'Estrange.

What may be got without skill or merit. Fish not, with this melancholy bait, For this fool gudgeon, this opinion. Shak.