Forms: 1–2 weorþ, weorð, weorðe, 1–5 worþ, 3–5 worþe, 3–6 worthe, 3– worth; 1, 3 wurð, 1–5 wurþ (Orm. wurrþ, 3, 5 wrþ), 3–5 wurth (5 wurght), 4–5 wurthe; 5 wourth, 6–7 woorth (6 -the); 5 werth, 9 dial. wirth. [OE. weorþ, worþ, wurþ, = OFris. werth, OS. werđ, MDu. wert, weert (Flem. weerd), waert (Du. waard), OHG. werd (MHG., G. wert), ON. verðr (Icel. verður, Norw. verd, Sw. värd, Da. værd), Goth. wairþs; the relationships of the stem are obscure. OE. also had the derivative form wierðe, wyrðe, which is represented by wurðe, wurthe, in early southern texts; see WURTHE a. The Anglian form of this, weorðe, cannot in ME. be distinguished from weorð.]
Almost always (now only) in predicative use, or following the sb. as part of a qualifying phrase.
I. 1. Of the value of a specified amount or sum; equivalent to (something) in material value.
Also used indefinitely in direct or indirect questions; see group (b).
(a) a. 695. Laws Ine, lv. Ewo bið mid hire ʓiunge sceape scill weorð. Ibid., lviii. Oxan horn bið x. pæninga weorð.
c. 1330. R. Brunne, Chron. Wace (Rolls), 11416. Somme riche robes, wyþ [v.r. worth] many poundes.
c. 1350. Athelston, 391. Now is my goode hors forlorn,… He was wurþ an hundryd pounde.
c. 1435. Torr. Portugal, 712. At the beddes hed he fond A swerd, worthe an Erllys lond.
c. 1450. Mirk’s Festial, 86. Ȝe haue a comyn sayng among you, and sayn þat Godys grace ys worth a new fayre.
1480. Warkworth, Chron. (Camden), 25. Alle the good that was therin, whiche was worthe xx. ml. li. or more.
c. 1530. [see MARCH sb.2 2].
1544. trans. Littleton’s Tenures, 81. Though the horse … be nat the .xx. part worth in value of the summe of money.
1573–80. Tusser, Husb. (1878), 44. A rottenly mould is land woorth gould.
1600. J. Pory, trans. Leo’s Africa, VII. 289. An ell of the scarlet of Venice or of Turkie-cloath is here worth thirtie ducates.
1639. J. Clarke, Parœm., 45. A penny at a pinch is worth a pound.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Past., V. 127. What Present worth thy Verse can Mopsus find!
1705. Addison, Italy, Pavia, 28. It [the statue] is esteem’d worth its weight in Gold.
1779. Warner, in Jesse, Selwyn & Contemp. (1844), IV. 285. He would be worth a mint of money, and make one of the best hunters in the kingdom.
1839. Lane, Arab. Nts., I. 80. It is worth ten pieces of gold.
1869. Ruskin, Q. of Air, § 122. The money of all nations is worth, at its maximum, the property of all nations, and no more.
(b) a. 1122. O. E. Chron. (Laud MS.), an. 1085. He lett ʓe-writan … hu mycel ælc mann hæfde … & hu mycel feos hit wære wurð.
c. 1400. Rule St. Benet, lvii. 37. Loke what it is wrz [= wrþ], þat ye ne sette na felun price þar-on.
1528. Sel. Cases Star Chamber (Selden), II. 19. A Fyne … whych amountyth nygh asmoche as the sayd landes … be worth clyerly to be solde.
1605. Erondelle, Fr. Gard., K 5 b. There is a fayre Diamond, what is it worth?
1795–6. Wordsw., Borderers, III. 1278. Pray tell me what this land is worth by the acre.
1905. ‘G. Thorne,’ Lost Cause, ii. What ’ll it be worth when it is reaped?
ellipt. a. 1690–1874. [see CANDLE sb. 5 f].
1883. D. C. Murray, Hearts, xviii. The game didn’t seem worth the candle.
b. Of (such-and-such) value to a person. Also with dative of person.
1484. Caxton, Fables of Poge, xii. [The Dene sayd] I pray yow what is this benefyce worth to yow a yere.
1533. More, Apol., x. Wks. 867/1. Al the landes and fees that I haue … is not at this daye … woorthe yearelye to my lyuynge, the summe of full fyftye pounde.
1560. Daus, trans. Sleidane’s Comm., 303. Certenly that countrey is not so much worth vnto hym, but that, if he myght with his honour, he coulde be content to forgoe it.
1632. Star Chamber Cases (Camden), 160. He said the first oath should stand and that it should be worth her 100li.
1686. trans. Chardin’s Coronat. Solyman, 83. Which Employment was worth to him about fifteen thousand pounds yearly.
c. In contemptuous comparisons. Sometimes ellipt. after verbs of action: see (b).
For further examples see BUTTON sb. 1 b, CRESS 2, FAS 2, FIG sb.1 4, FLY sb.1 1 d, HALFPENNY 1, HAW sb.2 2, LEEK 3, MITE2 1 b, PEASE sb. 2 b, PIN sb.1 3 b, PREEN sb. 1 b, STRAW sb.1 7, TURD 1 b.
c. 1250. Orison of Our Lady, 28, in O. E. Misc., 160. Þis liues blisse nis wurð a slo.
a. 1272. Luue Ron, 86, ibid. 95. Hit nere on ende wrþ on heryng.
c. 1290. St. James, 52, in S. Eng. Leg., 35. Ouwer power nis nouȝt wurth an hawe.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 26991. Hop es god at hald wit houe, bot til vnskil noght worth a gloue.
1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 769. For euery gadlyng nat wurþ a pere Takyþ ensample at ȝow to swere.
c. 1320. Sir Tristr., 3167. Þis lond nis worþ anay [= an egg], When þou darst do swiche adede.
a. 1352. Minot, Poems, i. 24. Þai fled,… And all þaire fare noght wurth a flye.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 334. To hasten is noght worth a kerse.
14[?]. ? Lydg., Assembly of Gods, 597. For all the baytys that ye for hym haue leyde … be nat worth a peere.
1542. Udall, Erasm. Apoph., 8. Whereas in maters not woorth a blewe point … wee will spare for no cost.
a. 1548. Hall, Chron., Hen. VII., 7. She knewe it to be but a feigned & peinted mattre & not woorth two strawes.
1580. Fulke, Retentive, Discov. Dang. Rock, ii. 181. Therfore these three differences are not worth three chippes.
1600. W. Watson, Decacordon (1602), 72. I would say they [the Jesuits] had no scholerisme worth a blew button amongst them.
ellipt. 1776. Foote, Bankrupt, II. 36. Manufacturers, and meagre mechanicks? fellows not worth powder and shot.
(b) 1338. R. Brunne, Chron. (1725), 204. Þou fisshes not worþe a leke, rise & go þi ways.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. VIII. 54. Schal no deuel at his deþ-day deren him worþ a Myte.
c. 1425. Macro Plays, Castle Persev., 2227. Go hens! ȝe do not worthe a tord!
2. Of material value; capable of being estimated in terms of money or some other material standard; valuable as a possession or property. Qualified by adv. of quantity, as little, much, † nought. † Well worth: of full value. arch.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 213. Þe sullere loueð his þing dere and seið þat it is wel wurð, oðer betere; þe beȝer … seið þat hit nis noht wurð.
c. 1340. Nominale (Skeat), 306. Lityl is worth the reme of an ey.
1482. Cely Papers (Camden), 118. As for a gosse hawke I gett non here yett for … my lordd Chamberleyn beyth hem upp and [= if] they be any thyng wurth.
1558. T. Watson, Seven Sacr., xviii. 113. Bye me one or twoo of the best of them and leaste woorthe.
1568. Jacob & Esau, II. iv. C iv b. Ah sir, when one is hungry, good meat is much worth.
1581. Pettie, trans. Guazzo’s Civ. Conv., III. (1586), 138. It may rightly be saide … that the feathers are more worth then the byrde.
1615. W. Lawson, Country Housew. Garden (1626), 6. Fruit blown vnripe, are small worth.
1718. Entertainer, No. 19. 126. A Carbunkle is more worth than a Rock.
1719. De Foe, Crusoe, I. (Globe), 68. My Time or Labour was little worth, and so it was as well employ’d one way as another.
b. Of value in other than material respects. arch.
c. 1200. Ormin, 1156. Mare wass hiss bede wurrþ Þann alle þeȝȝre lakess.
c. 1205. Lay., 26555. Nis noht wurð þratte buten þer beo dede æt.
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 2318. His sacringe was lute worþ & naþeles it was ydo.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 25. That figure … Betokneth how the world schal change And waxe lasse worth and lasse.
c. 1430. Freemasonry (1840), 36. Hyt ys so muche worthe,… The vertu therof no mon telle may.
1484. Caxton, Fables of Æsop, I. xii. Better worthe is to lyue in pouerte surely, than to lyue rychely beyng euer in daunger.
1568. Cecil, in Cal. St. Papers Irel., Pref. 8. Marry! an ounce of advise is more worth to be executed aforehand than in the sight of perrills.
1579. Googe, Lopez de Mendoza’s Prov., 32. That wisedome is more woorth then the weapons of the mightie.
1648. Gage, West Ind., 37. Their prayers for them is more worth then the means of sustenance which they receive from them.
1672. Marvell, Reh. Transp., I. 19. I do not think it so much worth to gain his approbation.
1781. C. Johnston, Hist. J. Juniper, II. 173. A blessing that is more worth than all the wealth of which the Jews have ever cheated honest men.
1834. Southey, in Corr. w. C. Bowles (1881), 311. He will have … living lesson, better worth than Divines could teach.
1871. B. Taylor, Faust, II. II. ii. 148. Little worth is woman’s beauty, So oft an image dumb we see.
3. Of a specified or certain value in other than material respects.
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 810. To soþ þou seidest me, þat as muche as ich hadde ich was worþ.
1303. R. Brunne, Handl. Synne, 8550. Þy lyfe hymn þynkeþ ys wurþ no þyng.
1340–70. Alex. & Dind., 261. For riht wisdam is worþ al þe world riche.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. Prol. 75. Weore þe Bisschop … worþe boþe his Eres, Heo scholde not beo so hardi to deceyue þe peple.
1526. J. Rastell, Hundred Merry Tales (1866), 93. I pray ye teche me my Pater noster, & by my trouth I shall therfore teche the a songe of Robyn hode that shall be worth .xx. of it.
1590. Spenser, F. Q., I. iii. 30. A dram of sweet is worth a pound of sowre.
1617. Moryson, Itin., I. 248. I thought an howers rest worth a Kings ransome.
1638. Chillingw., Relig. Prot., I. iii. § 26. 139. Neither is this deduction worth any thing.
1713. Addison, Cato, II. i. A Day, an Hour of virtuous Liberty, Is worth a whole Eternity in Bondage.
1795–6. Wordsw., Borderers, II. 1003. A thought that’s worth a thousand worlds!
1818. Scott, Br. Lamm., xxviii. A night-cowl of good claret is worth all the considering-caps in Europe.
1849. Lytton, K. Arthur, VI. lxxx. But one live dog is worth ten lions dead.
1867. Freeman, Norm. Conq., I. vi. 574. The judgement of a competent tribunal is always worth something.
1894. Solicitors’ Jrnl., XXXIX. 2/1. In a matter of this kind a grain of common sense is worth a peck of scientific hair-splitting.
b. In the phrase as much as … is worth.
1711. Steele, Spect., No. 24, ¶ 4. It is as much as my Life is worth, if she should think we were intimate.
1849. Cupples, Green Hand, x. To haul on a wind was as much as her spars were worth.
c. For all (it, one) is, was worth: to the fullest extent. Orig. U.S.
1883. Mercury (N.Y.), in Ware, Passing Engl., 5. Scalchi, to use a side-walk phrase, played Siebel for all the character was worth.
1884. Boston (Mass.) Jrnl., 1 Oct., 2/14. The Boston Post, having worked the bogus … letter for all that it was worth, now admits that it was a forgery.
1889. Gunter, That Frenchman! xxi. 298. [The steamer] is driving, for everything she is worth, down the waters of the Finnish Gull.
1897. Mary Kingsley, W. Africa, 197. We spun round and round … I steering the whole time for all I was worth.
† 4. Valuable; of value or use (to some end); worthy. Obs.
1340. Ayenb., 90. Zaynte paul … heþ hyer ynemned þe meste gentile guodes þet man may do and þet mest were ywoned to by worþ and profiti.
1382. Wyclif, Matt. v. 13. To nothing it [salt] is worth ouer, no bot that it be sent out, and defoulid of men.
1422. Yonge, trans. Secreta Secret., 196. Hit is noȝt wourth, the Science and Iugementes of the Sterrys.
c. 1449. Pecock, Repr., III. viii. 325. And therfore this afore sett answere is not worth.
a. 1450. Le Morte Arth., 2545. To Ryde A-ȝeyne hem All by dene Or ther worthe walles holde.
† b. Worth while. Obs.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Prol., 785. Vs thoughte it was noght worth to make it wys … And bad him seye his voirdit as hym leste.
c. 1449. Pecock, Repr., II. i. 136. I wote not that it is worth forto talke in resonyng with eny persoon of the laife vpon eny mater of Goddis lawe, but if he be able [etc.].
5. Of standing in respect of possessions, property or income; possessed of, owning. Usu. with specification of the sum.
1460. Paston Lett., III. 429. Enquere of hym wher his goode is, and what he is wurthe…; for I undre stande that he is wurthe in money ve marke.
1497. Plumpton Corr. (Camden), 123. She is called worth mll beside hir land.
1531–2. Act 23 Hen. VIII., c. 2. Euery suche person … beynge worthe in mouable substaunce the cleere value of .xx.li. or aboue.
1551. in Feuillerat, Revels Edw. VI. (1914), 59. Gentlemen that … wolde not be seen in london so … disgysed for asmoche as they ar worthe or hope to be worthe.
1567. Harman, Caveat, 61. The troth is … she would wekely be worth vi. or seuen shyllinges with her begging.
1655. Nicholas Papers (Camden), II. 257. Sr Theodore Mayerne is dead and left his dawghter wourth a hundred thousand pounds in ready mony.
1676. Etheredge, Man of Mode, III. iii. You are for Masks, and Private Meetings; where Women engage For all they are worth I hear.
1711. Steele, Spect., No. 260, ¶ 1. If … all my Securities are good, I shall be worth Fifty thousand Pound.
1778. Miss Burney, Evelina, lxxxii. She assures me … that I shall be sole heiress of all she is worth.
1821. Lamb, Elia, I. Old Benchers Inner T. He was master of four or five hundred thousand pounds; nor did he look … worth a moidore less.
1878. G. Macdonald, Ann. Q. Neighb., xxxii. She will be worth something when she is married.
† 6. Of persons: Of account or importance; entitled to respect or honor; worthy. Obs. (In OE. also of things.)
Beowulf, 1902. He þæm batwearde … swurd ʓesealde, þæt he syðþan wæs … maþme þy weorðra.
c. 888. Ælfred, Boeth., xxxix. § 2. Weliʓ & weorð & rice & foremære on his aʓnum earde.
a. 1100. Gerefa, in Anglia, IX. 260. A swa he ʓecneordra, swa bið he weorðra.
a. 1122. O. E. Chron. (Laud MS.), an. 876. Þa ʓislas þe on þam here weorþuste wæron.
c. 1200. Ormin, 5020. & tu þe sellf narrt rihht nohht wurrþ Wiþþutenn Godess hellpe.
c. 1205. Lay., 30993. Þer neoren eorles no wurðer [c. 1275 worþere] þene cheorles.
c. 1300. Harrow. Hell (E.), 172. Ȝa, leue lord, godes sone, welcom be þou & worþ come.
1340. Ayenb., 23. Þet byeþ þe heȝe men and þet byeþ mest worþ. Ibid., 90. Huo þet lest heþ, lest is worþ.
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 2498. He wan a-ȝen to william & to his worþ make.
1393. Langl., P. Pl., C. XI. 310. Fore þe more a man may do,… The more is he worth and worthi.
1535. Coverdale, Prov. xvi. 32. He that can rule him selfe, is more worth then he yt winneth a cite.
II. † 7. Of sufficient merit, entitled by merit, deserving, to be or do something. Obs.
In OE. usually expressed by wyrðe: see WURTHE a.
c. 1000. Ælfric, Hom., II. 316. We ðe næron wurðe beon his wealas ʓeciʓde.
c. 1200. Ormin, 2357. Þærþurrh wass ȝho wel wurrþ to ben Swa wurrþedd her onn erþe. Ibid., 19875. Forrþi wass ȝho wurrþ att Godd,… To don þatt dede o Sannt Johan.
c. 1205. Lay., 2965. Hu mochel worȝ leste þu me [c. 1275 hu mochel worþ holdist þou me] to walden kineriche.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 12822. I am noght worthe to lese þe thuanges of his sco.
1340. Ayenb., 231. Naȝt ne is worþ to habbe maidenhod of bodye þet heþ wyl to by y-spoused.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, i. (Peter), 332. He … mad hym byschope; for þat he ves worth to haf sic degre.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 107. I trowe ther be noman … That halt him lasse worth than I To be beloved.
c. 1420. Wyntoun, Cron., V. 4502. He was worthe to wyn wictorys.
b. Deserving or worthy of (something). † In early use with genitive.
In OE. only in form wyrðe, Angl. weorðe.
c. 833. Will, in Birch, Cartul. Sax., I. 575. Ða hwile þe God wille ðæt ðeara æniʓ sie þe londes weorde sie.
c. 888. Ælfred, Boeth., xvi. § 1. For his cræftum he bið anwealdes weorðe, ʓif he his weorðe bið.
12[?]. in Bracton, De Leg. Angl., IV. i. (Rolls), III. 184. He ne es othes worthe that es enes gylty of oth broken.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 10353. Now, loke if þis lede soche longyng be worthe, As þou writis in þi wordes.
c. 1400. Rule St. Benet (verse), 922. Than es þer wark worth mikyl mede.
a. 1425. Cursor M., 12302 (Trin.). Þe childes frendes fro þat houre helde ihesu worþe honoure.
c. 1470. Golagros & Gaw., 1245. Ilkane be werk and be will Is worth his rewarde.
1615. W. Lawson, Country Housew. Garden (1626), 18. And it is hardly possible to misse in graffing so often, if your Gardiner be worth his name.
1772. T. Mudge, Descr. Timekeeper (1799), 19. It flatters me not a little that you should think any thing of mine so much worth your trouble.
1830. Marryat, King’s Own, lii. The captain … is not worth his salt.
1873. Browning, Red Cott. Nt.-cap, 194. He will have recognized … How much that’s good in man … makes Monsieur Léonce Miranda worth his help.
† c. Without const.: Of merit, deserving. Obs.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Serm., Sel. Wks. I. 358. Ȝour place is ordeyned in hevene after þat ȝe ben worþe.
† d. Deserving on account of demerit or fault. Obs.
c. 1375. Lay Folks Mass Bk. (MS. B.), 72. In worde, & werk I am to wite and worth to blame.
c. 1375. Cursor M., 44 (Fairf.). Our dedis fra our hert takis rote, queþer þai be worþ bale or bote.
c. 1400. Rom. Rose, 7104. Wel were it worth to bene brent.
8. Sufficiently valuable or important to be an equivalent or good return for (something). Also const. of. Worth (the) while: see WHILE sb. 3 b.
1387. Trevisa, Higden, IV. 355. The queene … beet Iudas ful ofte, but al for nouȝt, ffor it was not worþ þe while.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, II. vii. 129. Thair with my handis wrocht I worth my deid.
1556. Huggard, Display. Protestants, 40. It shall be worth the traueill to say somwhat therein.
1642. C. Saltonstall, Navigator, 65. They [the Theorems] will give you so great a light … that it will be well worth your labour.
1667. Milton, P. L., I. 262. To reign is worth ambition though in Hell.
1711. W. King, trans. Naude’s Ref. Politics, iii. 107. That the crown of France was well worth the trouble of hearing one mass.
1866. Neale, Sequences & Hymns, 23. Ye, who sometimes think the glory Of the labour scantly worth.
b. With vbl. sb. (in early use with the, one’s) as complement. † Also to with inf. (quot. 1559).
The const. also occurs with OE. wyrðe, weorðe.
In recent times the illogical use of worth for worth while, and vice versa, is frequent.
(a) 1540. Palsgr., Acolastus, IV. vii. X ij b. My corne … was not worth the cuttyng downe.
1559. Clough, in Burgon, Life Gresham (1839), I. 255. It was sure a sight worth to go 100 myles to see it!
1582. N. Lichefield, trans. Castanheda’s Conq. E. Ind., I. v. 13 (margin). Three smal Ilands discouered not worth the entering.
1617. Moryson, Itin., I. 32. A Tower … worth the seeing, for the antiquity and building.
1630. R. Johnson’s Kingd. & Commw., 112. All histories will tell you, it is a point worth the looking into.
1669. Earl Sandwich, trans. Barba’s Art of Metals, I. (1674), 129. It is very well worth ones making a journey purposely to see them.
1692. L’Estrange, Fables, cccxliii. 300. Hang ’em All up … they are not Worth the Begging.
1798. Wordsw., Peter Bell, III. 815. An Ass like this was worth the stealing!
1832. Lister, Arlington, II. 252. You may think it little worth the telling,… but you shall know every thing.
(b) 1591–5. Spenser, Col. Clout, 85. Well I weene it worth recounting was.
1638. Junius, Paint. Ancients, 28. Viewing round about all what was worth seeing in so famous a place.
1686. [Allix], Dissert., iii. in Ratramnus’ Body & Bl. (1688), 54. It is worth observing … that the Adoration of the Sacrament sprang not up till some Ages after.
1751. Hume, Enq. Princ. Morals, vii. (1902), 256. [He] soon lost his iron lamp, the only furniture which he had worth taking.
1782. Miss Burney, Cecilia, VIII. iv. That the matter is somewhat spread … is now not to be helped, and therefore little worth thinking of.
1836. Hints on Etiquette (ed. 2), 15. If a man be worth knowing, he is surely worth the trouble to approach properly.
1877. Mallock, in 19th Cent., Sept., 251 (article), Is Life worth living?
1889. T. A. Trollope, What I remember, III. 285. I have then, as at all times, found life eminently ‘worth living.’
1915. Sisam, Skeat’s Havelok, p. xxxi. When a text has any claims to belong to the thirteenth century, it is worth noticing what evidence it contains for the lengthening of short vowels in open syllables.
c. With nouns having the force of vbl. sbs.
1660. Nicholas Papers (Camden), IV. 231. He is acquainted with diuers things worth the knowledge.
1744. M. Bishop, Life, 137. I … was very inquisitive in asking about every particular Thing that was worth my Observation.
1772. Junius Lett., lxviii. 338. It is worth the reader’s attention to observe.
1837. Dickens, Pickw., iii. ‘They are not worth your notice,’ said the dismal man.
1877. Huxley, Physiogr., 76. The rusting of this particular metal is worth closer study.
† 9. Fit, meet, proper. Obs. rare.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 7515. It es noght worth, leif sir king, þat man in godd haue mistrouing.
a. 1400–50. Wars Alexander, 3426. I maynly ȝow swere,… Þe worthe wage þaim [to] wayue þat þai haue wele serued.
c. 1412. Hoccleve, De Reg. Princ., 441. Certes to blame ben þe lordes grete,… þat hir men leta Vsurpe swiche a lordly apparaille; [It] Is not worþ.
