worth 
Ther William was & his ^corih IJurUe [wife]. 
WUliain of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), I. 2522. 
The more that a man con, the more tcorth he ys. 
Rob. of Gloucester, p. 364. 
He . . . accounts hiraselfe both a fit person to do the 
noblest and godliest deeds, and much better worth then 
to deject and defile with such a debasement and such a 
pollution as sin Is, himselfe so highly ransom'd. 
Milton, Church-Government, ii. 3. 
2. Having worth, esteem, or value in a given 
degree ; representing a relative or comparative 
worth (of) : used generally with a noun of mea- 
surement dependent directly upon it without a 
preposition. 
A byrd in hand, as some men say, is worth ten flye at large. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 98. 
Specifically — (a) Having a specified value in money or 
exchange ; representing under fair conditions a price or 
cost (of); equivalent in value to: expressing either actual 
market value, or value obtainable under favorable or just 
conditions. 
Schal no deuel at his deth-day deren him worth a myte. 
Piers Plowman (A), viii. 54. 
A score of good ewes may be worth ten pounds. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iii. 2. 57. 
(6) Possessed of ; having estate to the value of ; possess- 
ing: as, a man worth five millions. 
To ennoble those 
That scarce, some two days since, were worth a noble. 
Shak., Rich. III., i. 3.82. 
Poor Rutilus spends all he 's Worth, 
In hopes of setting one good Dinner fortli. 
Con^eve, tr. of Eleventh Satire of Juvenal. 
(c) Having a specified moral value or importance ; estima- 
ble or esteemed in a given way ; reaching a certain grade 
of excellence. 
But I remain'd, whose hopes were dim, 
Whose life, whose thoughts, were little worth. 
Tennyson, In Alemoriam. 
3. Entitled to, by reason of excellence, impor- 
tance, etc.; meriting; deserving: having the 
same construction as in sense 2: as, the castle 
is worth defending; the matter is not worth no- 
tice. 
Me, wretch more worth your vengeance. 
Shak., Cymbeline, v. 1. 11. 
Pray thee, let him alone ; he is not worth thy anger. 
Fletcher, Spanish Curate, i. 1. 
If what one has to say is worth saying, he need not beg 
pardon for saying it. O. W. Holmes, Over the Teacups, xii. 
Not worth a continental, a hair, a leek, a marave- 
di, a rap, a snap, etc. See the nouns.— The game is 
not worth the candle. See cand/e.— To be worth 
one's salt See saiu.— Worth the whistle. See w/iw- 
«/e. — Worth while. See while^. 
WOrth^ (werth), n. [< ME. worthj werth, wurth, 
wrthy also worthe, wiirthe, tcerthe, < AS. weorthj 
icurth = OS. werth, werd = D. waarde = OHG, 
icerd{>liit]i. wertus, OBulg. vredui), MHG. wertj 
G. icert, werth = Icel. verth= Sw. vdrde = Dan. 
v^rd =1 Goth, wairths,\'dlne; from the adj.: see 
icortK^jtt.'] If. Honor; dignity. 
I will do what ivorth 
Shall bid me, and no more. 
Beau, and Fl., Maid's Tragedy, iii. 2. 
Wee read sometimes of two Bishops in one place, and 
had all the Presbyters there beene of like worth we might 
perhaps have read of twenty, 
Milton, Prelatical Episcopacy. 
2. Worthiness ; excellence of character ; ex- 
cellency; merit; desert: as, a man of great 
worth. 
I dispute it not, 
His worth foreatals exception. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, iv. 254. 
I know your icorths, 
And thus low bow in reverence to your virtues. 
Fletcher, Humorous Lieutenant, iii. 7. 
Old letters, breathing of her worth. 
Tennyson, Mariana in the South. 
3. Value; importance; excellence; valuable 
or desirable qualities: said of things. 
Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now, 
Will be a tatter'd weed, of small w(/rth held. 
Shak., Sonnets, ii. 
A beautiful object may have a worth for feeling inde- 
pendent of mere contemplation. Mind, XII. 629. 
4. Value, especially as expressed in terms of 
some standard of equivalency or exchange : as, 
what is his house north f the worth of a com- 
modity is usually the price it will bring in mar- 
ket, but price is not always worth. 
"For ofte haue I," quod he, '"holpe gow atte barre, 
And git geue ge me neucre the wortfie of a russhe." 
Piers I'lowinan (H), iv. 170. 
A crown's worth of good interi>retatioTi. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., ii. 2. 99. 
If I had but in my jmcket 
The worth of one single pennie. 
Willie Wallace (Child's Ballads, VI. 2SS). 
5. That which one is worth ; possessions; sub- 
stance; wealth; riches. 
6984 
He that helps him take all my outward worth. 
Shak., Lear, iv. 4. 10. 
In good wortht, in good part ; without displeasure or 
offense. 
It becometh me to take it in good worth ; I am not better 
than he was. Latimer, 3d Sermon bef. Edw. VI., 1549. 
=8301, 2 and 3, Merit, etc. See des&rt^.—^ Value, Cost, 
etc. See price. 
worthful (werth'ful), a. [< ME. wtirthftd, worth- 
voile, < AS. wcorthfuU, valuable, < weorth, worth : 
see icorth^ and -ful.'] Full of worth; worthy. 
Mars ton. 
Those high-born damea and worth/vl females whom Mar- 
garet the queen had drawn about her. 
Rock, Church of our Fathers, il. 272. 
Penang and Singapore in the Straits of Malacca, Hong 
Kong on the route to Canton and Shanghai, are all very 
worthful. F(yrtnightly Rev., N. S., XL. 373. 
■W0rthily.(w6r'THi-li), adv. [< ME. worthiliche, 
worthily; < tvorthy + -hj'^.'} 1. In a worthy 
manner; honorably; with due dignity, rever- 
ence, or respect ; reverently. 
Worthili hh'e he welcomed wen he hire mette. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4290. 
2. Excellently; rightly; becomingly; suitably; 
fittingly. 
Thou and thy meaner fellows your last service 
Did worthily perform. Shak., Tempest, iv. 1. 36. 
He that hath begun so worthily, 
It fits not with his resolution 
To leave off thus, my lord. 
Beau. andFl., Woman-Hater, v. 2. 
3. Deservedly; justly; according to merit. 
They would not leave their sins, . . . therefore their de- 
struction came worthily upon them. 
Latimer, Sermons and Remains (Parker ed.), p. 51. 
Had the gods done so, I had not now 
Worthily tei-m'd them merciless to us ! 
Shak., C. of E., i. 1. 100. 
He found out the author, one Dyer, a most crafty fellow 
and his ancient Maligner, whom he worthily punished. 
Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, I. 228. 
You worthily succeed not only to the honours of your 
ancestors, but also to their virtues. 
Dryden, To the Duke of Ormond, Ded. of Fables. 
I affirm that some may very worthily deserve to be hated. 
South, Sermons. 
worthiness (wer'thi-nes), n. [< ME. worthi- 
nease, worthy nesse; < tvorthy, a., + -nesfi.'] The 
quality of being worthy; honor; excellence; 
dignity; virtue; merit; desert. 
After we ahull returne hem for to socoure, for grete pite 
it were yef thei were deed or taken in so tendre age, for 
tliei ben of high valoure and grete worthyneme. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 197. 
The prayers which our Saviour made were, for his own 
worthiness, accepted. Hooker. 
I see, even in her looks, gentry and general worthiness. 
B. Jonson, Poetaster, ii. 1. 
= Syn. See worths, n. 
worthless (werth'les), a. [< worth^ + -less: < 
AS. wio'thle<i.s, < wurth, worth, + -leas, E. -less.'] 
1. Of no value or use ; valueless; useless. 
Silvia is too fair, too true, too holy. 
To be corrupted with my worthless gifts. 
Shak.,T. G. of V., iv. 2. 6. 
'Tis but a worthless world to win or lose. 
Byron, Childe Harold, iii. 40. 
We read how men sell themselves to a certain Personage, 
and that Personage cheats them. He gives them wealth ; 
yes, but the gold pieces turn into worthless leaves. 
Thackeray, Roundabout Papers, On a Pear-tree. 
2. Lacking in or destitute of worth, dignity, 
excellence, or merit; mean; contemptible. 
Some worthless slave of thine I'll slay. 
Shak., Lucrece, 1. 515. 
Habits of dissimulation and falsehood, no doubt, mark 
a man of our age and country as utterly worthless and 
abandoned. Macaulay, Machiavelli. 
The mode of genesis of the worthy and the worthless 
seems the same. W. James, Prin. of Psychol., I. 552. 
3. Unworthy; not deserving. 
A peevish schoolboy, worthless of such honour. 
Shak., J. C, v. 1. 61. 
Her boons let foolish Fortune throw 
On worthless heads ; more glorious 'tis by far 
A Diadem to merit than to wear. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, i. 149. 
Worthless they are of Csesar's gracious eyes. 
B. Jonson, Poetaster, v. 1. 
= Syn. 1. Unserviceal)le, unprofitable.— 2. Base, vile, de- 
praved, graceless, trashy, trumpery, flimsy, tinsel, tritling, 
paltry, frivolous. 
worthlessly (werth'les-li), adv. In a worthless 
nuinner. 
worthlessness (werth'les-nes), n. The state 
or character of being worthless. 
WOrthlyt (werth'li), a. [ME. worthely, witrth- 
liche; < worth^ + -7^1.] Worthy; excellent. 
What sehulde the mone ther compas clym, 
A to euen wyth that worthly lygt 
That schyncz vpon brokez brym? 
Alliterative Poeina (ed. Morris), i. 1071. 
worthy 
But onely the worthely warke of my wyll 
In my sprete sail enspyre the mighte of me. 
York Plays, p. 2. 
worthy (w^r'THi), a. and n. [< ME. worthy, 
worthi, wwrthy, wurthi, worthy (not found in 
A8.), = OS. wirthig = MD. weerdigh = MLG. 
werdig = OHG. wirdig, MHG. wirdec, G. wiirdig, 
worthy, = Icel. verthngr = Sw. vdrdig = Dan. 
vserdig; as worth^ 4- -yi.] I. a. 1. Having 
worth; of high standing or degree; honorable; 
worshipful; excellent; deserving of honor, re- 
spect, praise, mention, attention, or the like; 
valuable; noble; estimable; virtuous; meri- 
torious: noting persons and things. 
Therfore whan the Soudan wille avance ony worthi 
Knyghte, he makethe him a Amyralle. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 38. 
Tho moste worthiest thes brethren gan take, 
Vnto the castel conueing thaim certayn. 
Rom. of Partenay (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1823. 
Salust is a wise and worthy writer, 
Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 154. 
I have done thee worthy service. 
Shak., Tempest, i. 2. 247. 
Against him Mauritius performed worthie attempts, 
which made way vnto him for the Koman Empire. 
Purc/uis, Pilgrimage, p. 359. 
A really worthy life depends not only on the vividness 
and constancy of the ruling moral idea, but also on its 
volume and contents. 
J. Sully, Sensation and Intuition, p. 148. 
2f, Of high rank or social station. 
And though that he were w<nrthy, he was wys. 
And of his port as meek as is a mayde. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., I. 68. 
3. Deserving; meriting: sometimes followed 
by of before the thing merited or deserved, 
sometimes by an accusative directly, and some- 
times by an infinitive. 
36, sire, bote I pertly vndo that I haue the profred, 
I am worthi inuche blame; what mai I seise more? 
Joseph of Arimathie (E. E. T. S.), p. 5. 
Now trewly ye be worthy to haue grete blame, for youre 
peple haue moche losse hadde seth ye wente from the 
bataiie. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 404. 
Worthy the owner, and the owner it. 
Shak., M. W. of W., v. 5. 64. 
Oh, thou hast open'd 
A book in which, writ down in bloody letters, 
My conscience finds that I am worthy of 
More than I undergo ! 
Beau, and Fl., Thierry and Theodoret, iv. 2. 
Epaminondas, amongst the Thebans, is worthy of note 
and memory, even to our ages and those that shall succeed 
us. Ford, Line of Life. 
Friends! we have liv d too long. I never heard 
Sounds such as these, so worthy to be feared. 
Cowper, Needless Alarm. 
When we consider a right or a wrong action »s done by 
another person, we think of that person as worthy of moral 
approbation or reprobation. 
IT. K. Clifford, Lectures, II. 130. 
4. Well-deserved. 
Doing worthy vengeance on thyself. 
Shak., Rich. IH., L 2. 87. 
5. In keeping with the standing, character, 
dignity, etc. (of); fit; fitted; proper; suited; 
suitable: with of,forj or an infinitive clause. 
Whan a workman hath wrou3t« thanne may men se the 
sothe, 
What he were worthi for his werke and what he hath de- 
serued ; 
And nougt to fonge bifore for drede of disalowynge. 
Piers Plounnan (B\ xiv. 139. 
Worthy for an empress' love. Shak., T. G. of V., ii. 4. 76. 
Wert thou a subject ivorthy of my sword, 
Or that thy death, this moment, could call home 
My banishd hopes, thou now wert dead ; dead, woman ! 
Fletcher, Spanish Curate, v. 1. 
If your parts be worthy of me, I will countenance you. 
JS. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, i. 1. 
White gloves, and linen worthy Lady Mary ! 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, I. i. 164. 
After the greatest consociation of religious duties for 
preparation, no man can be sufficiently worthy to commu- 
nicate. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 313. 
Foemen worthy of their steel. Scott, L. of the L., v. 10. 
Worthiest of blood, in late, a phrase applied to males, 
as opposed to females, in tlie succession to inheritance. 
See tanistry. 
II. «. ; y\. worthies {-'imi.). 1. A person of 
eminent worth; one distinguished for service- 
able and estimable qualities: as, Fuller's "His- 
tory of the JVorthies of England." 
Thou thyselfe dost now repute 
The wort[h]iest wort\h]y of the race of Brute. 
Times' Whi^le (E. E. T. S.X p. 26. 
What do these worthies 
But rob and spoil, burn, slaughter, and enslave 
Peaceable nations? Milton, P. R,, iii. 74. 
At the first appearance of my work, its aim and drift 
were misapprehended by some of the descendants of the 
Dutch worthies. Irviiu/, Knickerbocker, p. 13. 
