Other forms: merits
Merit is worth earned by ability or effort. Judged on merit, an award for merit, without merit.
On merit is the standard phrase for a decision made on quality alone. The merits of something, in the plural, means its good points or the substance of a case: the merits of the argument, decided on the merits. A meritocracy is a system in which position is earned rather than inherited — the word was coined in 1958 as a criticism and is now used mostly as praise. Note merit as a verb, meaning to deserve.
1nounmeritWorth earned by ability or effort.
“She got the job on merit, not because her father knew the boss.”
2noungoodThe good points or substance of something.
“The merits of the case were never actually considered.”
merit is earned worth.
Latin meritum means what one deserves, from merere, to earn or serve. The same root gives meritorious and, at a distance, the Greek meros, a share — so merit began as an allotted portion.
Proto-Indo-European
*(s)mer- — to allot, assign
Latin
meritum — that which one deserves, deserts; benefit, reward, merit; service; kindness; importance, value, worth; blame, demerit, fault; grounds, reason
Old French
merite — moral worth, reward; merit
Anglo-Norman
merit
Middle English
merit
English, today
merit
Built from
From Middle English merit, merite (“quality of person’s character or conduct deserving of reward or punishment; such reward or punishment; excellence, worthiness; benefit; right to be rewarded for spiritual service; retribution at doomsday; virtue through which Jesus Christ brings about salvation; virtue possessed by a holy person; power of a pagan deity”), from Anglo-Norman merit, merite, Old French merite (“moral worth, reward; merit”) (modern French mérite), from Latin meritum (“that which one deserves, deserts; benefit, reward, merit; service; kindness; importance, value, worth; blame, demerit, fault; grounds, reason”), neuter of meritus (“deserved, earned, obtained; due, proper, right; deserving, meritorious”), perfect passive participle of mereō (“to deserve, earn, obtain, merit; to earn a living”), from Proto-Indo-European (s)mer- (“to allot, assign”). The English word is probably cognate with Ancient Greek μέρος (“component, part; portion, share; destiny, fate, lot”) and cognate with Old Occitan merit.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA