Where does “meritlessly” come from?
meritlessly (English) comes from English meritless, 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...
meritlessly (English): In a meritless fashion
Ancestry of “meritlessly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | meritless | Without merit |
| 2 | English | merit | A claim to commendation or a reward; A mark or... |
| 3 | Middle English | merit | — |
| 4 | Anglo-Norman | merit | — |
| 5 | Old French | merite | merit |
| 6 | Latin | meritum | merit, service, deserts; value, reward, benefit,... |
| 7 | Latin | meritus | earned, deserved, obtained, due, proper, right,... |
| 8 | Latin | mereō | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)mer- | to fall into thinking, remember, care for; to... |