Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “merit badging” come from?

merit badging (English) comes from English merit badge, from English merit, from Middle English merit, from Anglo-Norman merit, from Old French merite, from Latin meritum, from Latin meritus, from Latin mereō — to fall into thinking, remember, care for; to...

merit badging (English): The act of pursuing merit badges

Definitions

  1. The act of pursuing merit badges

Ancestry of “merit badging”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishmerit badgeAn award earned by youth members of the Boy...
2EnglishmeritA claim to commendation or a reward; A mark or...
3Middle Englishmerit—
4Anglo-Normanmerit—
5Old Frenchmeritemerit
6Latinmeritummerit, service, deserts; value, reward, benefit,...
7Latinmeritusearned, deserved, obtained, due, proper, right,...
8Latinmereō—
9Proto-Indo-European(s)mer-to fall into thinking, remember, care for; to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)mer- →