worth

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See also:Worth,worð,worþ,and-worth

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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FromMiddle Englishworth,fromOld Englishweorþ,fromProto-Germanic*werþaz(“worthy, valuable”);fromProto-Indo-European*wert-.

Cognate withDutchwaard(adjective),Low Germanweert(adjective),Germanwert,Wert,Swedishvärd,Welshgwerth,Ukrainianвартість(vartistʹ).

Adjective

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worth(notcomparable)

  1. Having avalueof; proper to beexchangedfor.
    My house now isworthdouble what I paid for it.
    Cleanliness is a virtueworthmore than others.
    A paintingworththousands.
  2. Deservingof.
    I think you’ll find my proposalworthyour attention.
    His friendship is notworthhaving.
    • 2012May 9, Jonathan Wilson, “Europa League: Radamel Falcao's Atlético Madrid rout Athletic Bilbao”, inthe Guardian‎[1]:
      Two years after their first European trophy, Atlético were wellworththeir second.
  3. (obsolete,except in Scots)Valuable,worthwhile.
  4. Making afairequivalentof,repayingorcompensating.
    This job is hardlyworththe effort.
Usage notes
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The modern adjectival senses ofworthcompare two noun phrases, prompting some sources to classify the word as a preposition. Most, however, list it an adjective, some with notes like "governing a noun with prepositional force."Fowler's Modern English Usagesays, "the adjectiveworthrequires what is most easily described as an object. "

Joan Maling (1983) shows thatworthis best analysed as a preposition rather than an adjective.CGEL(2002) analyzes it as an adjective.

Compare:

  • Organic strawberries areworthpaying extra money for.
  • It'sworthpaying extra money for organic strawberries.

When "worth" is used as an adjective of a subject, the verb "to be" (usually associated with "worth" ) is singular or plural in accordance with the subject (in the first example, in the plural). In the other case, shown in the second example, the subject is the pronoun "it".

Derived terms
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Translations
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Noun

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worth(countableanduncountable,pluralworths)

  1. (countable)Value.
    I’ll have a dollar'sworthof candy, please.
    They have proven theirworthsas individual fighting men and theirworthas a unit.
    stocks having aworthof two million pounds
    • 2022January 12, Tom Allett, “MPs concerned at Treasury's influence on rail industry”, inRAIL,number948,page13:
      The December 11Telegraphstory, which accused the Treasury of blocking plans for £30 billionworthof electrification across the rail network [...], has rung alarm bells over who is the real source of power concerning rail's development - the Department of Transport or the Treasury?
  2. (uncountable)Merit,excellence.
    Our new director is a man whoseworthis well acknowledged.
    • 2012September 7, Phil McNulty, “Moldova 0-5 England”, inBBC Sport‎[2]:
      Manchester United's Tom Cleverley impressed on his first competitive start and Lampard demonstrated his continuedworthat international level in a performance that was little more than a stroll once England swiftly exerted their obvious authority.
  3. (uncountable)Wealth,fortune,riches,property,possessions.
    • 2018July 19, “More than £1.2 million of Bitcoin seized from drug dealer”, incps.gov.uk‎[3],London: Crown Prosecution Service, retrieved2018-07-20:
      A drug dealer and money launderer who was using cryptocurrency to conceal his funds has had over £1.2 millionworthof Bitcoins seized, restrained and then converted into British pounds in the first case of its kind.
  4. (uncountable)An amount that could be achieved or produced in a specified time.
    • 2020November 18, “Network News: Lack of safety compliance a factor in Loughborough SPAD”, inRail,page25:
      Although most modern OTDR equipment can store at least eight days'worthof data (in line with current industry standards), when it was downloaded from the Class 57s involved, it was discovered they had stored just over eight hours'worthof data.
  5. (uncountable,obsolete)Highsocialstanding,noblerank.
    • 1593,anonymous author,The Life and Death of Iacke Straw[…],Act I:
      VVhat bee they men of anyworthor no?[…]
      No my good Lord, they bee men of no great account,
      For they bee none but Tylers, Thatchers, Millers, and ſuch like.
Derived terms
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Terms derived fromworth(noun)
Translations
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Etymology 2

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FromMiddle Englishworthen,wurthen,werthen(“to be; exist; come into being; come into existence”),fromOld Englishweorþan(“to come into being; be made; become; arise; be”),fromProto-West Germanic*werþan,fromProto-Germanic*werþaną(“to come about; happen; come into being; become”),fromProto-Indo-European*wert-(“to turn; turn out”).

Cognate withDutchworden,Low Germanwarrn,Germanwerden,Old Norseverða(Norwegianverta,Swedishvarda), Latinvertere.

Alternative forms

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Verb

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worth(third-person singular simple presentworths,present participleworthing,simple pastworthorworthed,past participleworthorworthedorworthen)

  1. (obsolete,except in set phrases ordialectal)Tobe,become,betide.
    • 1611,The Holy Bible,[…](King James Version), London:[…]Robert Barker,[…],→OCLC,Ezekiel30:2:
      Sonne of man, prophecie and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Howle ye, woeworththe day.
    • 1843April,Thomas Carlyle,“ch. 3, Landlord Edmund”, inPast and Present,American edition, Boston, Mass.:Charles C[offin] LittleandJames Brown,published1843,→OCLC,book II (The Ancient Monk):
      For, adds our erudite Friend, the Saxonweorthanequivalent to the Germanwerden,means to grow, to become; traces of which old vocable are still found in the North-country dialects, as, ‘What is word of him?’ meaning ‘What is become of him?’ and the like. Nay we in modern English still say, ‘Woeworththe hour.’[i.e. Woe befall the hour]
    Woeworththe man that crosses me.
    Wellworththee, me friend.
    (May good fortune befall you, my friend.)
Derived terms
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References

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Anagrams

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Cornish

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Permanently lenited form ofgorth.

Adverb

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worth

  1. Alternative form oforth(“at, against”)

Usage notes

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  • When compared toorth,this word is used much less frequently.

Derived terms

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French

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Etymology

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BorrowedfromEnglishworth it.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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worth

  1. (slang)Worth doing; worth thetime,effort,etc.

Scots

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Etymology

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FromOld Englishweorþ.

Adjective

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worth(comparativemairworth,superlativemaistworth)

  1. Valuable,worth while.
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