worthy

worthy · adjective, noun¹

1. Old English · inherited from*weorþiġ“worthy”
2. Middle English · inherited fromworthy
3. English todayworthy

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 verðugur (“worthy”).

worthy · verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*wert-“to turn, wind”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*werþōną“to be worthy, estimate, appreciate, appraise”
3. Old English · derived fromweorþian“to esteem, honor, worship, distinguish, celebrate, exalt, praise, adorn, deck, enrich, reward”
4. Middle English · derived fromworthien
5. English todayworthy

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”).

Worthy · proper noun³

Possibly from worthy.

Words from the same roots