different between worth vs distinction
worth
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /w???/
- (General American) IPA(key): /w??/
- Rhymes: -??(?)?, -?(?)?
Etymology 1
From Middle English worth, from Old English weorþ, from Proto-Germanic *werþaz (“worthy, valuable”); from Proto-Indo-European *wert-.
Cognate with Dutch waard (adjective), Low German weert (adjective), German wert, Wert, Swedish värd, Welsh gwerth.
Adjective
worth (not comparable)
- Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.
- Deserving of.
- (obsolete, except in Scots) Valuable, worthwhile.
- Making a fair equivalent of, repaying or compensating.
Usage notes
The modern adjectival senses of worth compare two noun phrases, prompting some sources to classify the word as a preposition. Most, however, list it an adjective, some with notes like "governing a noun with prepositional force." Fowler's Modern English Usage says, "the adjective worth requires what is most easily described as an object."
Joan Maling (1983) shows that worth is best analysed as a preposition rather than an adjective. CGEL (2002) analyzes it as an adjective.
Compare:
- Organic strawberries are worth paying extra money for.
- It's worth paying extra money for organic strawberries.
When "worth" is used as an adjective of a subject, the verb "to be" (usually associated with "worth") is singular or plural in accordance with the subject (in the first example, in the plural). In the other case, shown in the second example, the subject is the pronoun "it".
Derived terms
Translations
Noun
worth (countable and uncountable, plural worths)
- (countable) Value.
- I’ll have a dollar's worth of candy, please.
- They have proven their worths as individual fighting men and their worth as a unit.
- stocks having a worth of two million pounds
- (uncountable) Merit, excellence.
- Our new director is a man whose worth is well acknowledged.
- (uncountable) Wealth, fortune, riches, property, possessions.
- (uncountable) An amount that could be achieved or produced in a specified time.
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English worthen, wurthen, werthen (“to be; exist; come into being; come into existence”), from Old English weorþan (“to come into being; be made; become; arise; be”), from Proto-West Germanic *werþan, from Proto-Germanic *werþan? (“to come about; happen; come into being; become”), from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn; turn out”).
Cognate with Dutch worden, Low German warrn, German werden, Old Norse verða (Norwegian verta, Swedish varda), Latin vertere.
Alternative forms
- word
Verb
worth (third-person singular simple present worths, present participle worthing, simple past worth or worthed, past participle worth or worthed or worthen)
- (obsolete, except in set phrases) To be, become, betide.
- 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 2, ch. 3, "Landlord Edmund"
- For, adds our erudite Friend, the Saxon weorthan equivalent to the German werden, means to grow, to become; traces of which old vocable are still found in the North-country dialects, as, ‘What is word of him?’ meaning ‘What is become of him?’ and the like. Nay we in modern English still say, ‘Woe worth the hour.’ [i.e. Woe befall the hour]
- Woe worth the man that crosses me.
- (May good fortune befall you, my friend.)
- 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 2, ch. 3, "Landlord Edmund"
Derived terms
- forworth
References
- worth in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- worth in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- worth at OneLook Dictionary Search
- Joan Maling (1983), Transitive Adjectives: A Case of Categorial Reanalysis, in F. Henry and B. Richards (eds.), Linguistic Categories: Auxiliaries and Related Puzzles, vol.1, pp. 253-289.
Anagrams
- throw, whort, wroth
Scots
Etymology
From Old English weorþ
Adjective
worth (comparative mair worth, superlative maist worth)
- Valuable, worth while.
worth From the web:
- what worth more than gold
- what worthy mean
- what worth means
- what worthless means
- what worthwhile means
- what worth watching on netflix
- what worth a frost dragon
- what worth having is worth fighting for
distinction
English
Etymology
From Middle English distinccioun, from Old French distinction (attested 12th century), from the Latin accusative distinctionem, action noun of distinguo (“I distinguish”). Used in English from the late 14th century.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d??st??k??n/
Noun
distinction (countable and uncountable, plural distinctions)
- That which distinguishes; a single occurrence of a determining factor or feature, the fact of being divided; separation, discrimination.
- The act of distinguishing, discriminating; discrimination.
- Specifically, a feature that causes someone or something to stand out as being better; a mark of honour, rank, eminence or excellence; being distinguished.
- 2013, Daniel Taylor, Steven Gerrard goal against Poland ensures England will go to World Cup (in The Guardian, 15 October 2013)[2]
- Leighton Baines, playing with distinction again, sent over a left-wing cross with pace and accuracy. Welbeck, prominently involved all night, could not reach it but Rooney was directly behind him, flashing his header past Szczesny.
- 2013, Daniel Taylor, Steven Gerrard goal against Poland ensures England will go to World Cup (in The Guardian, 15 October 2013)[2]
Antonyms
- (that which distinguishes): confusion
Derived terms
- contradistinction
- distinction without a difference
Related terms
- distinct
- distinguish
- distinguished
- distinguishable
- distinguishness
Translations
French
Etymology
From Old French distinction (attested in the 12th century), from borrowed from the Latin accusative distinctionem, the action noun of distinguere (“distinguish”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dis.t??k.sj??/
- Rhymes: -??
- Homophone: distinctions
Noun
distinction f (plural distinctions)
- distinction (difference, honour)
Related terms
- distinct
- distinguer
Further reading
- “distinction” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
distinction From the web:
- what distinction was signified by the magna carta
- what distinction means
- what distinctions does russia enjoy
- what distinction did it earn in the 1920s
- what was achieved with the carta magna
- what does magna carta represent
- what were the main points of the magna carta
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