Where does “deserve” come from?
Deserve comes from Middle English deserven, from Old French deservir, from Latin deservire meaning to serve fully, from the prefix de- and Latin servire meaning to serve.
deserve (English): To be entitled to, as a result of past actions;...
Definitions
- To be entitled to, as a result of past actions;...
Ancestry of “deserve”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | deserven | — |
| 2 | Old French | deservir | to serve well or zealously; to deserve; to merit |
| 3 | Latin | dēserviō | to serve zealously |
| 4 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 5 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 6 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 7 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |