Hypertext Webster Gateway: "deserving"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Deserve \De*serve"\ (d[-e]*z[~e]rv"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
{Deserved}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Deserving}.] [OF. deservir,
desservir, to merit, L. deservire to serve zealously, be
devoted to; de- + servire to serve. See {Serve}.]
1. To earn by service; to be worthy of (something due, either
good or evil); to merit; to be entitled to; as, the
laborer deserves his wages; a work of value deserves
praise.
God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity
deserveth. --Job xi. 6.
John Gay deserved to be a favorite. --Thackeray.
Encouragement is not held out to things that deserve
reprehension. --Burke.
2. To serve; to treat; to benefit. [Obs.]
A man that hath So well deserved me. --Massinger.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Deserving \De*serv"ing\, n.
Desert; merit.
A person of great deservings from the republic.
--Swift.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Deserving \De*serv"ing\, a.
Meritorious; worthy; as, a deserving person or act. --
{De*serv"ing*ly}, adv.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
deserving
adj : having sufficient worth; "an idea worth considering"; "a
cause deserving or meriting support"; "the deserving
poor" (often used ironically) [syn: {deserving(p)}, {meriting(p)},
{worth(p)}]
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