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Worth vs Worthiness - What's the difference?

worth | worthiness |

In countable terms the difference between worth and worthiness

is that worth is value while worthiness is the result or product of being qualified or eligible.

In uncountable terms the difference between worth and worthiness

is that worth is merit, excellence while worthiness is the state or quality of being qualified or eligible.

As a preposition worth

is having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.

As a verb worth

is to be, become, betide.

worth

English

Etymology 1

From worth or wurth, from (etyl) .

Preposition

(English prepositions)
  • Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.
    • My house now is worth double what I paid for it.
    Cleanliness is the virtue most worth having but one.
  • Deserving of.
    • I think you’ll find my proposal worth your attention.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=May 9 , author=Jonathan Wilson , title=Europa League: Radamel Falcao's Atlético Madrid rout Athletic Bilbao , work=the Guardian citation , page= , passage=Two years after their first European trophy, Atlético were well worth their second.}}
  • (obsolete, except in Scots) Valuable, worth while.
  • Making a fair equivalent of, repaying or compensating.
    • This job is hardly worth the effort.
    Usage notes
    The modern adjectival senses of worth'' compare 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." says, "the adjective ''worth requires what is most easily described as an object." Joan Maling (1983) shows that worth is best analysed as a preposition rather than an adjective. CGEL (2002) analyzes it as an adjective.
    Derived terms
    * for what it's worth/FWIW * more trouble than it's worth * not worth a dime * worth a try * worth every penny * worthful * worth it * worth its weight in gold * worthless * worth one's salt * worth one's while * worth the risk * worthwhile * worthy

    Noun

  • (countable) Value.
    • I’ll have a dollar's worth of candy, please.
    They have proven their worths''' as individual fighting men and their '''worth as a unit.
  • (uncountable) Merit, excellence.
    • Our new director is a man whose worth is well acknowledged.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=September 7 , author=Phil McNulty , title=Moldova 0-5 England , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Manchester United's Tom Cleverley impressed on his first competitive start and Lampard demonstrated his continued worth at international level in a performance that was little more than a stroll once England swiftly exerted their obvious authority.}}
    Derived terms
    * all one's life's worth * a dime's worth * comparable worth * disworth * jobsworth * money's worth * net worth * pennyworth * self-worth * tuppence worth/tuppenceworth * two pennies' worth * worthen

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) (Norwegian verta, Swedish varda), Latin vertere.

    Verb

  • (obsolete, except in set phrases) To be, become, betide.
  • * 1843 , , book 2, ch. 3, "Lndlord Edmund"
    • For, adds our erudite Friend, the Saxon weorthan'' equivalent to the German ''werden'', 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, ‘Woe worth the hour.’ ''[i.e. Woe befall the hour]
  • * 14th century , Pearl poet, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
    • Corsed worth cowarddyse and couetyse boþe! [i.e. Cursed be cowardice and covetousness both]
    Woe worth the man that crosses me.
    Derived terms
    * outworth

    References

    * * * * Joan Maling (1983), Transitive Adjectives: A Case of Categorial Reanalysis, in F. Henry and B. Richards (eds.), Linguistic Categories: Auxiliaries and Related Puzzles , vol.1, pp. 253-289.

    Statistics

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    Anagrams

    * * ----

    worthiness

    English

    Noun

  • (uncountable) The state or quality of having value or merit.
  • (countable) The result or product of having value or merit.
  • (uncountable) The state or quality of being qualified or eligible.
  • (countable) The result or product of being qualified or eligible.