In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
deserving, worth
(adjective) (often used ironically) worthy of being treated in a particular way; “an idea worth considering”; “the deserving poor”; “a deserving cause”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
deserving (comparative more deserving, superlative most deserving)
worthy of reward or praise; meritorious
meriting, worthy (reward, punishment etc.)
• undeserving
deserving (plural deservings)
desert, merit
deserving
present participle of deserve
Source: Wiktionary
De*serv"ing, n.
Definition: Desert; merit. A person of great deservings from the republic. Swift.
De*serv"ing, a.
Definition: Meritorious; worthy; as, a deserving or act.
– De*serv"ing*ly, adv.
De*serve", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deserved; p. pr. & vb. n. Deserving.] Etym: [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.
De*serve", v. i.
Definition: To be worthy of recompense; -- usually with ill or with well. One man may merit or deserve of another. South.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
30 June 2025
(adjective) affecting or characteristic of the body as opposed to the mind or spirit; “bodily needs”; “a corporal defect”; “corporeal suffering”; “a somatic symptom or somatic illness”
In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.