Merit meaning
Pupils are rewarded or corrected, as they merit.
Promotions based on merit alone.
To decide a case on its merits.
His teacher gave him ten merits.
An example of merit is someone receiving an award for their charity work.
Judging people according to their merits.
Origin of merit
- Middle English from Old French merite reward or punishment from Latin meritum from neuter past participle of merēre to deserve (s)mer-2 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English merite, from Old French merite, from Latin meritum (“that which one deserves, just deserts; service, kindness, benefit, fault, blame, demerit, grounds, reason, worth, value, importance"), neuter of meritus, past participle of mereÅ (“I deserve, earn, gain, get, acquire"), akin to Ancient Greek μÎÏος (meros, “a part, lot, fate, destiny").
From Wiktionary