Worthwhile vs Worth - What's the difference?
worthwhile | worth | Derived terms |
Good and important enough to spend time, effort, or money on.
Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.
Deserving of.
* {{quote-news
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(obsolete, except in Scots) Valuable, worth while.
Making a fair equivalent of, repaying or compensating.
(countable) Value.
(uncountable) Merit, excellence.
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(obsolete, except in set phrases) To be, become, betide.
* 1843 , , book 2, ch. 3, "Lndlord Edmund"
* 14th century , Pearl poet, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Worth is a derived term of worthwhile.
As an adjective worthwhile
is good and important enough to spend time, effort, or money on.As a preposition worth is
having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.As a noun worth is
value.As a verb worth is
to be, become, betide.worthwhile
English
Alternative forms
* worth whileAdjective
(en adjective)- Doing volunteer work to help others is truly worthwhile .
worth
English
Etymology 1
From worth or wurth, from (etyl) .Preposition
(English prepositions)- My house now is worth double what I paid for it.
- Cleanliness is the virtue most worth having but one.
- I think you’ll find my proposal worth your attention.
citation, page= , passage=Two years after their first European trophy, Atlético were well worth their second.}}
- 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 * worthyNoun
- 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.
- Our new director is a man whose worth is well acknowledged.
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 * worthenEtymology 2
From (etyl) (Norwegian verta, Swedish varda), Latin vertere.Verb
- 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]
- Corsed worth cowarddyse and couetyse boþe! [i.e. Cursed be cowardice and covetousness both]
- Woe worth the man that crosses me.
Derived terms
* outworthReferences
* * * * 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.
