The Collaborative International Dictionary
Worthy \Wor"thy\, a. [Compar. Worthier; superl. Worthiest.] [OE. worthi, wur[thorn]i, from worth, wur[thorn], n.; cf. Icel. ver[eth]ugr, D. waardig, G. w["u]rdig, OHG. wird[=i]g. See Worth, n.]
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Having worth or excellence; possessing merit; valuable; deserving; estimable; excellent; virtuous.
Full worthy was he in his lordes war.
--Chaucer.These banished men that I have kept withal Are men endued with worthy qualities.
--Shak.Happier thou mayst be, worthier canst not be.
--Milton.This worthy mind should worthy things embrace.
--Sir J. Davies. -
Having suitable, adapted, or equivalent qualities or value; -- usually with of before the thing compared or the object; more rarely, with a following infinitive instead of of, or with that; as, worthy of, equal in excellence, value, or dignity to; entitled to; meriting; -- usually in a good sense, but sometimes in a bad one.
No, Warwick, thou art worthy of the sway.
--Shak.The merciless Macdonwald, Worthy to be a rebel.
--Shak.Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.
--Matt. iii. 11.And thou art worthy that thou shouldst not know More happiness.
--Milton.The lodging is well worthy of the guest.
--Dryden. -
Of high station; of high social position. [Obs.]
Worthy women of the town.
--Chaucer.Worthiest of blood (Eng. Law of Descent), most worthy of those of the same blood to succeed or inherit; -- applied to males, and expressive of the preference given them over females.
--Burrill.
Wiktionary
a. (en-superlativeworthy)
WordNet
adj. having worth or merit or value; being honorable or admirable; "a worthy fellow"; "no student deemed worthy, and chosen for admission, would be kept out for lack of funds"- Nathan Pusey; "worthy of acclaim"; "orthy of consideration"; "a worthy cause" [ant: unworthy]
worthy of being chosen especially as a spouse; "the parents found the girl suitable for their son" [syn: desirable, suitable]
meriting respect or esteem; "the worthy gentleman"
having high moral qualities; "a noble spirit"; "a solid citizen"; "an upstanding man"; "a worthy successor" [syn: noble, solid, upstanding]
morally admirable; "a worthy citizen"
n. word is often used humorously
See worthy
Usage examples of "worthiest".
A handsome young physician and leading patriot allied with Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, Warren had been one of the worthiest men of the province.
She was his “Dearest Friend,” as he addressed her in letters—his “best, dearest, worthiest, wisest friend in the world”—while to her he was “the tenderest of husbands,” her “good man.
John wrote to Abigail of being in constant “suspense, uncertainty, and anxiety” about the army at New York, and about “my best, dearest, worthiest, wisest friend in this world and all my children.
Sir, said the monk, this shield ought not to be hanged about no knight's neck but he be the worthiest knight of the world.
Then stert he down and took Lionel by the shoulders, and drew him strongly aback from Bors, and said: Lionel, will ye slay your brother, the worthiest knight of the world one?
Now reck I not though I die, for now I hold me one of the blessed maidens of the world, which hath made the worthiest knight of the world.