worthy

See also: Worthy and -worthy

English

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)

1. 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.

2. Admirable or honourable.
   • 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England, London: [s.n.], →OCLC:

     that such iron moulds as these shall have autority to knaw out the choicest periods of exquisitest books, and to commit such a treacherous fraud against the orphan remainders of worthiest men after death, the more sorrow will belong to that haples race of men, whose misfortune it is to have understanding.

3. 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, […]

   • 1863, The Eagle: A Magazine - Volumes 3-4, page 280:

     It is not a conclusive proof of our being enlightened Christians, that we sneer and misinterpret bygone creeds, as though in the old Greek and Roman poetry were shewn nothing worthier than Fetish idols, rotten mummies, Australasian Ram-Jams and Ethiopian Mumbo-Jumbos.

4. 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

• markworthy
• noteworthy
• worthily
• worthiness
• the laborer is worthy of his hire

Related terms

• worthly

Translations

having worth, merit, or value

• Armenian: արժանի (hy) (aržani)
• Bulgarian: достоен (bg) (dostoen)
• Catalan: digne (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 配稱／配称 (zh) (pèichèng)

• Dutch: waardig (nl)
• Esperanto: digna, inda (eo)
• Estonian: väärt, väärtuslik
• Finnish: arvollinen
• French: digne (fr)
• Galician: digno m
• German: würdig (de)
• Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐍃 (wairþs)
• Greek: άξιος (el) (áxios)

  Ancient: ἄξιος (áxios)

• Ido: digna (io)
• Italian: degno (it)
• Latgalian: godns
• Latin: dignus (la)
• Latvian: cienīgs
• Malayalam: യോഗ്യമായ (ml) (yōgyamāya)
• Maori: whaiwariu
• Norman: dîngne
• Polish: godny (pl)
• Portuguese: digno (pt), valioso (pt)
• Romanian: demn (ro)
• Russian: досто́йный (ru) (dostójnyj)
• Spanish: digno (es)
• Telugu: అర్హము (te) (arhamu)
• Tocharian B: aṣām
• Ukrainian: гі́дний (hídnyj), досто́йний (dostójnyj)
• Welsh: gwiw

honourable or admirable

• Armenian: արժանի (hy) (aržani)
• Bulgarian: заслужен (bg) (zaslužen)
• Catalan: digne (ca)
• Esperanto: admirinda, estimata, honorinda, meritplena
• Finnish: kunnianarvoisa
• French: honorable (fr), admirable (fr)
• Greek: έξοχος (el) (éxochos)

  Ancient Greek: ἔξοχος (éxokhos)

• Hungarian: érdemes (hu)
• Ido: estiminda (io), honorinda (io), honoroza (io)
• Latin: dignus (la)
• Ottoman Turkish: عزیز (ʼazîz)
• Polish: zacny (pl) m
• Russian: заслу́женный (ru) (zaslúžennyj), достопочте́нный (ru) (dostopočténnyj)
• Spanish: digno (es)

deserving, or having sufficient worth

• Armenian: արժանի (hy) (aržani)
• Bulgarian: заскужаващ (zaskužavašt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 值得 (zh) (zhíde)

• Esperanto: merita, inda (eo)
• Finnish: -n (genitive) arvoinen
• Greek: άξιος (el) (áxios)
• Ido: digna (io)
• Irish: diongbháilte
• Japanese: 値する (ja) (あたいする, atai suru)
• Maori: whaitake
• Russian: заслу́живающий (ru) (zaslúživajuščij), сто́ящий (ru) (stójaščij)

Noun

worthy (plural worthies)

1. 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

• -worthy
• unworthy

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)

1. (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

• worthier
• worthying

Anagrams

• wrothy

Middle English

Etymology

From worth +‎ -y, from Old English weorþ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwɔrðiː/

Adjective

worthy

1. worthy

Descendants

• English: worthy