merit
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
merit/ˈmerɪt/
▶noun
- 1 excellence; worth.
■ an examination grade denoting above-average performance.
- 2 (usu. merits) a good point or feature.
■ (merits) chiefly Law the intrinsic rights and wrongs of a case.
■ (merits) Theology good deeds entitling someone to a future reward.
– origin ME: via OFr. from L. meritum ‘due reward’, from mereri ‘earn, deserve’.
'merit' also found in these Oxford entries:
accolade
- Blighty
- Buggins's turn
- class
- considerable
- defer
- earn
- godforsaken
- good
- hand
- handicap
- kung fu
- league table
- literary
- literature
- merit good
- meritocracy
- meritorious
- OM
- pretentious
- rate
- respectable
- significant
- supererogation
- talapoin
- virtue
- worship
- worth
