wort (1), worte (1), wurte

[A. S. wyrt; cogn. with O. Sax. wurt; O. Dutch worte; Icel. urt ( for vurt ), jurt; Dan. urt; Sw.ört; German wurz; Goth. waurts. Closely allied to wart and root. Wort appears in a number of compounds, of which it forms the last element; as, mugwort, .] [ORCHARD.] 1. A plant, an herb. "And in a bedde of wortes stille he lay, Till it was pa ed undern of the day.' Chaucer: C. Т., 15,228. *2. A plant of the cabbage kind. 3. Vaccinum myrtillus . Called also Worts. wõrt (2), *worte (2), s . [Prob. only a particular application of wort (1), meaning an infusion like that of herbs when boiled; cogn. with O. Dut. wort =wort; Low Ger. wört ; Icel. virtr ; Norw.vyrt , vört ; Sw.vort ; Ger.bierwurze =beer-wort.] Chemistry: The saccharine extract obtained from malt, barley, and other grain, by mashing with water. It is a complex mixture of saccharine bodies, some existing in the grain and others formed in the proce of brewing. It varies in quality, but the following percentage represents the average composition of brewer's wort, reckoned on the dry solid matter: Maltose, 64; dextrin, 16; cane and invert sugars, 12; albumen and mineral matters, 8. wõrth, *wort he, *worth-en, v . i. [A. S. weord han, wurdhan , wyrdhan (pa. t. weardh , pl. wurdon) =to become; cogn. with Dutch worden (pa. t. werd ; pa. par. geworden ); Icel. verdha (pa. t. vardh ; past par. ordhinn ) = to become, to happen, to come to pa ; Dan.vorde ; Sw.varda ; O. H. Ger. werdan ; Ger. werden ; Goth. wair than (pa. t. warth ; pa. par. waurthans); Latin ver to = to turn.] To become; to be. "My ioye is turned into strife, That sober I shall never wort he ." Gower: C. A. , v. Now only used in the phrases, Woe worth the day! Woe worth the man ! in which the verb is in the imperative mood, and the noun in the dative, the phrase being equivalent to Woe be to the day, . " Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day That costs thy life, my gallant gray.' Scott: Lady of the Lake, i. 9. worth, *wort he, *wurth, a . & s. [A. S. weordh , wurdh =(a.) honorable, (s.) value; cogn. with Dut. waard (a.), waarde (s.); Lat. verdhr (a.), verdh (s.); Dan. værd (a. & s.); Sw. värd (a.), värde (s.); M. H. Ger. wert (a. & s.); Ger. werth (a. & s.); Goth. wairths (a. & s.). Allied to A. S. waru =wares, valuables.] IMG:content-1034.png:[blocks in formation] That scarce some two days since were worth a noble." Shakesp.: Richard III., 1. 3. 5. Deserving, in a good or bad sense. "To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell." Milton: P. L. , 1. 262. B. As substantive: 1. That quality of a thing which makes it valuable; value; hence, value expre ed in a standard, as money, price, rate. Thus the worth of commodities is usually the price which they will fetch; but the price is not always the worth . "I should have lost the worth of it in gold." Shakesp.: Cymbeline, ii. 4. 2. That which one is worth; po e ions, substance, wealth. "They are but beggars that can count their worth." Shakesp.: Romeo and Juliet, ii. 6. 3. Value in respect of moral or mental qualities; desert, merit, worthine , excellence. " Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow." Pope : E ay on Man , iv. 202. 4. Importance, valuable qualities, worthine , excellence. (Applied to things.) "A batter'd weed of small worth held." Shakesp.: Sonnet 2. *wõrth-fül, a. [Eng. worth , s.; -ful ( l ).] Full of worth; worthy. IMG:content-1035.png:[blocks in formation] Shakesp.: Two Gentlemen, v. 4. 3. Deserving of praise; excellent. "Endowed with worthy qualities." 4. Deserving; such as merits; having equivalent qualities or value, in a good as well as a bad sense. Often followed by of before the thing deserved or compared; sometimes by that , sometimes by an infinitive, and sometimes by an accusative. "More worthy I to be beloved of thee." Shakesp.: Sonnet 150. *5. Well deserved; in a good as well as in a bad "Doing worthy vengeance on thyself." sense. Shakesp.: Richard III ., i. 2. IMG:content-1036.png:[blocks in formation] *1. Anything of worth or excellence. "In her fair cheek Where several worthies make one dignity." Shakesp.: Love's Labor's Lost, iv. 3. dist in 2. A person of eminent *wor-thi-le , *wor-thi-les, a. [Eng. worthy ; guished for useful or estimable qualities. (Some -le .] Undeserving, unworthy. "The justice that so his promise complish eth For his word's sake to worth i le desert." Wyat: The Author. wõr-thi-ly, *wor-the-ly, adv . [Eng. worthy ; ly.] 1. In a worthy manner; suitably; according to deserts. "Who can in tears bewail them worthily." Surrey: Virgil's Aneid, ii. 2. Suitably; excellently. "Thou and thy meaner fellows your last service Did worthily perform." Shakesp.: Tempest , v. wõr-thi-ne , *wor-thi-ne e, subst . [Eng. worthy; -ne .] 1. The quality or state of being worthy or well deserved; merit; desert. "The prayers which our Saviour made were, for his own worthine , accepted " -Hooker : Eccles. Polity. 2. Excellence, dignity, virtue. "He is a good one, and his worthine Does challenge much respect." Shakesp.: Othello, ii. 1.