deserve
English
Etymology
From Old French deservir, from Latin dēservīre, from de- + servīre.
Pronunciation
Verb
deserve (third-person singular simple present deserves, present participle deserving, simple past and past participle deserved)
- To be entitled to, as a result of past actions; to be worthy to have.
- After playing so well, the team really deserved their win.
- After what he did, he deserved to go to prison.
- This argument deserves a closer examination.
- (obsolete) To earn, win.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.vii:
- That gentle Lady, whom I loue and serue, / After long suit and weary seruicis, / Did aske me, how I could her loue deserue, / And how she might be sure, that I would neuer swerue.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.vii:
- (obsolete) To reward, to give in return for service.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VIII:
- ‘Grauntemercy,’ seyde the Kynge. ‘And I lyve, Sir Lambegus, I shall deserve hit.’
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VIII:
Synonyms
- merit
- See also Wikisaurus:deserve
Usage notes
- This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
Related terms
Translations
to merit
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External links
- deserve in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- deserve in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911