What is the Latin word for deserve?

The usual Latin words for “deserve” are mereō, commereō, prōmō; also prōmereō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“deserve” in Latin

mereōto deserve, merit; to earn, get, obtain, acquire; to serve, to render service to (with ablative of the person or thing i commereōto merit or deserve (fully); to err in, commit an offence or crime, perpetrate; to be guilty of prōmōto take or bring out or forth, produce, bring to light prōmereōto be deserving of, deserve, merit, earn; to acquire, earn, gain, get, win

The English word deserve itself goes back to Latin serviō, through dēserviō.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

deserve

To make one’s self worthy of anything by one’s services, merere; mereri: commerere; commereri (to deserve by means of anything): promerere; promereri (to deserve anything as a proportional reward or punishment for something done): dignum esse aliqua re (to be worthy of anything, by the possession of qualities, which in general estimation, confer a right to it): he deserves to be praised by me, dignus est, quem laudem, or qui a me laudetur: to deserve to be believed, fide dignum esse: to deserve anything of anybody, de aliquo or erga aliquem aliquid mereri: have I deserved this of you? siccine de te merui, or meritus sum? I did not deserve this from you, *non merui, cui talem gratiam referas: according as he deserves, (pro) merito alicujus: to deserve well of anybody, bene mereri de aliquo: cf., perfect, merui rather than meritus sum. To deserve to be (praised, etc.), is mereri ut or cur; seldom infinitive, though Quintilian, has meruit credi secundus; but ☞ dignus est, ut or qui should be used of fitness to be praised, etc.; mereor implies that it is earned by the person’s exertions, etc.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for deserve?: The usual Latin words for “deserve” are mereō, commereō, prōmō; also prōmereō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.