verbsecond conjugation
mereō
mereō (present infinitive merēre, perfect active meruī, supine meritum)
Classical[ˈmɛ.re.oː]Ecclesiastical[ˈmɛː.re.o]
merēns pres. act. ptcp.№ 852 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- to deserve, merit
et iubet et meruī
And he commands [it], and I deserved [it]8 CE – 12 CE, Ovidius, Tristia 1.2.95 - to earn, get, obtain, acquire
stīpendia merere
to perform military service - to serve, to render service to (with ablative of the person or thing interested)
sic se complures anuos illo imperante meruisse
that they had served to him for many years as commanderc. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico VII.17 - to earn a living
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
dignus sum accipere; quī bene labōrat, mercēdem meret.mereō -ēre — in Mille Verba, Urbs et Aedificia
dignus summereō -ēre, meruī — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 13
dignus, dēbitusmeritus -a -um — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 20
deserves
meret — in Seneca, ch. V
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Merere · Dignum esse · Mereri
1. Merere and Mereri (μείρεσθαι) suppose an activity, as to deserve; whereas dignum esse (from decet, δίκη,) only a quality, as to be worthy. 2. Merere is usually a transitive verb, as to deserve, and is in construction with an accusative, or with a sentence, as its complement; whereas mereri, an intransitive verb, as to be deserving, and is in construction with an adverb. Cic. Rosc. Com. 15. Fructum, quem meruerunt, retribuam: comp. with Catil. ii. 2, 4. Si illum, ut erat meritus, morte mulctassem. Cæs. B. G. vi. 5, with B. Civ. iii. 53. Suet. Cal. 40, with Aug. 56. 3. Merere as an intransitive, or without an object, denotes to serve as a warrior, by the ellipsis of stipendia; whereas mereri as a transitive, or with an object, means to earn something for one’s self, without any stress being laid upon the worthiness. (v. 213.)
Conjugation conjugation 2
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | mereō | merēbam | merēbō | meruī | merueram | meruerō |
| 2nd sg. | merēs | merēbās | merēbis | meruistī | meruerās | merueris |
| 3rd sg. | meret | merēbat | merēbit | meruit | meruerat | meruerit |
| 1st pl. | merēmus | merēbāmus | merēbimus | meruimus | meruerāmus | meruerimus |
| 2nd pl. | merētis | merēbātis | merēbitis | meruistis | meruerātis | merueritis |
| 3rd pl. | merent | merēbant | merēbunt | meruērunt meruēre | meruerant | meruerint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | meream | merērem | meruerim | meruissem |
| 2nd sg. | mereās | merērēs | meruerīs | meruissēs |
| 3rd sg. | mereat | merēret | meruerit | meruisset |
| 1st pl. | mereāmus | merērēmus | meruerīmus | meruissēmus |
| 2nd pl. | mereātis | merērētis | meruerītis | meruissētis |
| 3rd pl. | mereant | merērent | meruerint | meruissent |
passive indicative
| form | present | imperfect | future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | mereor | merēbar | merēbor |
| 2nd sg. | merēris merēre | merēbāris merēbāre | merēberis merēbere |
| 3rd sg. | merētur | merēbātur | merēbitur |
| 1st pl. | merēmur | merēbāmur | merēbimur |
| 2nd pl. | merēminī | merēbāminī | merēbiminī |
| 3rd pl. | merentur | merēbantur | merēbuntur |
passive subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | merear | merērer |
| 2nd sg. | mereāris mereāre | merērēris merērēre |
| 3rd sg. | mereātur | merērētur |
| 1st pl. | mereāmur | merērēmur |
| 2nd pl. | mereāminī | merērēminī |
| 3rd pl. | mereantur | merērentur |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | merē | merēre |
| pres. 2nd pl. | merēte | merēminī |
| fut. 2nd sg. | merētō | merētor |
| fut. 3rd sg. | merētō | merētor |
| fut. 2nd pl. | merētōte | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | merentō | merentor |
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | merēre | merērī |
| perfect infinitive | meruisse | meritum esse |
| future infinitive | meritūrum esse | meritum īrī |
| present participle | merēns | — |
| perfect participle | — | meritus merita, meritā, meritae, meritam, meritārum, meritās, merite, meritī, meritīs, meritō, meritōrum, meritōs |
| future participle | meritūrus meritūra, meritūrā, meritūrae, meritūram, meritūrārum, meritūrās, meritūre, meritūrī, meritūrīs, meritūrō, meritūrōrum, meritūrōs, meritūrum | merendus merenda, merendā, merendae, merendam, merendārum, merendās, merende, merendīs, merendōrum, merendōs |
gerundmerendī, merendō, merendumsupinemeritum, meritū
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- gratiam mereri
- to merit thanks; to do a thankworthy action.
- ex, pro merito
- according to a man's deserts.
- nullo meo merito
- I had not deserved it.
- male mereri de aliquo
- to deserve ill of a person; to treat badly.
- et recte (iure, merito)
- quite rightly.
- stipendia facere, merere
- to serve.
- meritum praemium alicui persolvere
- to reward a man according to his deserts.
- equo, pedibus merere (Liv. 27. 11)
- to serve in the cavalry, infantry.
3 more phrases
- meritum alicuius in or erga aliquem
- what a man merits at another's hands.
- bene, praeclare (melius, optime) mereri de aliquo
- to deserve well at some one's hands; to do a service to...
- gratiam alicui referre (meritam, debitam) pro aliqua re
- to show gratitude (in one's acts).
mĕrĕo, ŭi, ĭtum, 2, v. a., and mĕrĕor, ĭtus, 2, v. dep. cf. Gr. μέρος, μείρομαι, μόρος, etc.; hence, to receive one's share; cf. II. below,
I. to deserve, merit, to be entitled to, be worthy of a thing; constr. with acc., with ut, with ne, with inf., and absol.
I. In gen.
(a). With acc.:
mereri praemia, Caes. B. G. 7, 34: laudem, id. ib. 1, 40, 5; Cic. Div. in Caecil. 18, 60: nec minimum decus, Hor. A. P. 286: amorem, Quint. 6 prooem.: favorem aut odium, id. 4, 1, 44: gratiam nullam, Liv. 45, 24, 7; Quint. 4, 9, 32: fidem, Vell. 2, 104 fin.: summum honorem, Juv. 6, 532: supplicium, id. 6, 219.—(b). With ut:
respondit, sese meruisse, ut decoraretur, Cic. de Or. 1, 54, 232.—(g). With ne:
mereri, ne quis, Plin. 35, 2, 2, § 8.—(d). With inf.:
quae merui vitio perdere cuncta meo, Ov. Tr. 5, 11, 16: credi, Quint. 10, 1, 72: sanctus haberi, Juv. 8, 25.—(ε) Absol.: dignitatem meam, si mereor, tuearis, if I deserve it, Cic. Fam. 10, 17, 3.—In a bad sense: meruisse supplicium, Ov. M. 5, 666.—II. In partic.
A. To earn, gain, get, obtain, acquire:
quid meres? quantillo argenti te conduxit Pseudulus? Plaut. Ps. 4, 7, 95: iste, qui meret HS. vicenos, Varr. ap. Non. 4, 296: non amplius duodecim aeris, Cic. Rosc. Com. 10, 28: ne minus gratiae praecipiendo recta quam offensae reprendendo prava mereamur, Quint. 4, 2, 39: nomen patronorum, id. 6, 4, 5: indulgentiam, principis ingenio, Tac. Dial. 9 fin.: nomen gloriamque merere, id. H. 2, 37: famam, id. ib. 2, 31; id. A. 15, 6: ancillā natus diadema Quirini meruit, Juv. 8, 260: odium, Caes. B. G. 6, 5, 3: quantum quisque uno die mereret, Suet. Calig. 40 fin.: aera, Hor. A. P. 345. —With ut (rare): quem ego ut non excruciem, alterum tantum auri non meream, would not give up torturing him for, etc., Plaut. Bacch. 5, 2, 65: neque ille sibi mereat Persarum montes ... ut istuc faciat, would not do it for, etc., id. Stich. 1, 1, 24.— B. To get by purchase, to buy, purchase:
uxores, quae vos dote meruerunt, Plaut. Most. 1, 3, 124: quid arbitramini Rheginos merere velle, ut ab eis marmorea Venus illa auferatur? what do you think they would take? for what price would they let it be carried away? Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 60, § 135: gloriam, Plin. Ep. 1, 8, 13: legatum a creditore, Dig. 35, 2, 21: noxam, Petr. 139: quid Minyae meruere queri? to have reason, cause, Val. Fl. 1, 519.—C. In milit. lang., mereri and merere stipendia, or simply merere (lit., to earn pay), to serve for pay, to serve as a soldier, serve in the army:
mereri stipendia, Cic. Cael. 5, 11: meruit stipendia in eo bello, id. Mur. 5, 12: adulescens patre suo imperatore meruit, id. ib.: complures annos, Caes. B. G. 7, 17: triennio sub Hannibale, Liv. 21, 4 fin.: Romanis in castris, Tac. A. 2, 10: in Thracia, Suet. Vesp. 2: merere equo, to serve on horseback, in the cavalry, Cic. Phil. 1, 8, 20: merere pedibus, to serve on foot, in the infantry, Liv. 24, 18: mereri aere (al. equo) publico, Varr. ap. Non. 345, 2.—D. Mereri (ante-class., merere) de aliquo, or de aliquā re, to deserve or merit any thing of one, to behave in any manner towards one, in a good or bad sense (in Plaut. also with erga):
te ego, ut digna es, perdam, atque ut de me meres, Plaut. As. 1, 2, 22: ut erga me est merita, id. Am. 5, 1, 49: nam de te neque re neque verbis merui, ut faceres quod facis, id. Aul. 2, 2, 45: saepe (erga me; sc. illam) meritam quod vellem scio, that she has often treated me as I desired, Ter. Hec. 3, 5, 37.—Esp.: bene, male, optime, etc., mereri, to deserve well, ill, etc.: de mendico male meretur, qui ei dat, etc., Plaut. Trin. 2, 2, 58: de re publicā bene mereri, Cic. Fam. 10, 5, 2: de populi Romani nomine, id. Brut. 73, 254: melius de quibusdam acerbos inimicos mereri, quam eos amicos, qui dulces videantur, id. Lael. 24, 90: de re publica meruisse optime, id. Att. 10, 4, 5: perniciosius de re publicā merentur vitiosi principes, id. Leg. 3, 14, 32: stet haec urbs praeclara, quoquo modo merita de me erit, id. Mil. 34, 93: Paulus, qui nihil meruit, i. e. was innocent, Lact. 2, 16, 17: ita se omni tempore de populo Romano meritos esse, ut, Caes. B. G. 1, 11: Caesarem imperatorem bene de republicā meritum, deserving well, id. B. C. 1, 13: optime cum de se meritum judicabat, id. ib. 3, 99: milites mirifice de re publicā meriti, Cic. Fam. 12, 12, 3: homines de me divinitus meriti, id. Red. in Sen. 12, 30; cf.: te ego ut digna's perdam atque ut de me meres, Plaut. As. 1, 2, 22.— Hence, 1. mĕrens, entis, P. a., that deserves or merits any thing; in a good sense, deserving; in a bad sense, guilty; that has rendered himself deserving towards any one or of any thing; with de, rarely with dat.; esp. with bene, well-deserving (mostly poet. and post-class.):
consul laudare, increpare merentes, Sall. J. 100: laurea decreta merenti, Ov. P. 2, 2, 91: quem periisse, ita de re publicā merentem, doleo, Cic. Fragm. ap. Non. 344, 23; so Inscr. Grut. 933, 5.— With dat.: quando tu me bene merentem tibi habes despicatui, Plaut. Men. 4, 3, 19.— In sup.: HOMINI BENE MERENTISSIMO, Inscr. Rein. cl. 16, 8; Inscr. Grut. 932, 7; ib. 1129, 3.—2. mĕrĭtus, a, um, P. a.
a. Deserving:
meriti juvenci, Verg. G. 2, 515.—Sup.: filiae meritissimae, Inscr. Rein. cl. 5, 35. —b. Pass., deserved, due, fit, just, proper, right:
ignarus, laus an poena merita esset, Liv. 8, 7: triumphus, id. 39, 4, 6: iracundiam, neque eam injustam, sed meritam ac debitam fuisse, just, Cic. de Or. 2, 50, 203: mors, Verg. A 4, 696: noxia, committed, perpetrated, Plaut. Trin. 1, 1, 1: meritis de causis, for merited, i. e. just reasons, Dig. 48, 20.— Sup.: famā optimā et meritissimā frui, Plin. Ep. 5, 15.—Hence, 3. mĕrĭtum, i, n.
a. That which one deserves, desert; in a good sense, reward, recompense; in a bad sense, punishment (only ante- and postclass.):
nihil suave meritum est, Ter. Phorm. 2, 1, 75: specta denique, quale caelesti providentia meritum reportaverit, reward, punishment, App. M. 8, p. 214: delictorum, Tert. Apol. 21.—b. That by which one deserves any thing of another, a merit; esp. in a good sense, a service, kindness, benefit, favor (class.):
propter eorum (militum) divinum atque immortale meritum, Cic. Phil. 3, 6, 14: pro singulari eorum merito, id. Cat. 3, 6, 15: magnitudo tuorum erga me meritorum, id. Fam. 1, 1, 1: et hercule merito tuo feci, according to your merits, as you deserved, id. Att. 5, 11, 6: pro ingentibus meritis praemia acceperant, Tac. A. 14, 53: recordatio ingentium meritorum, Liv. 39, 49, 11; Curt. 8, 3, 14; Suet. Ner. 3; Sen. Ben. 3, 8, 2.—In Plaut. also in the sup.: meritissimo ejus, quae volet faciemus, on account of his great merit, Plaut. As. 3, 3, 147: merita dare et recipere, Cic. Lael. 8, 26: magna ejus sunt in me non dico officia, sed merita, id. Fam. 11, 17, 1.—Also demerit, blame, fault: Caesar, qui a me nullo meo merito alienus esse debebat, without any fault of mine, id. Sest. 17, 39: nullo meo in se merito, although I am guilty of no offence against him, Liv. 40, 15: leniter, ex merito quicquid patiare, ferendum est, Ov. H. 5, 7: ex cujusque merito scio me fecisse, Liv. 26, 31, 9: quosdam punivit, alios praemiis adfecit, neutrum ex merito, Tac. H. 4, 50; cf.: quod ob meritum nostrum succensuistis? Liv. 25, 6, 4.—B. Transf., worth, value, importance of a thing (poet. and post-class.):
quo sit merito quaeque notata dies, Ov. F. 1, 7: negotiorum, Cod. Just. 8, 5, 2: aedificia majoris meriti, of greater value, Cod. Th. 15, 1, 30: loci, Mart. 8, 65, 7: primi saporis mella thymi sucus effundit, secundi meriti thymbra, tertii meriti rosmarinus, Pall. 1, 37, 3.—4. mĕrĭtō, adv., according to desert, deservedly, justly, often connected with jure (class.):
quamquam merito sum iratus Metello, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 68, § 158: merito ac jure laudantur, id. Cat. 3, 6, 14; cf.: te ipse jure optimo, merito incuses, licet, Plaut. Most. 3, 2, 23: recte ac merito commovebamur, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 67, § 172: merito jam suspectus, Juv. 3, 221; 10, 208. —Sup.: meritissimo te magni facio, Turp. ap. Non. 139, 17; Caecil. ib. 18: me deridere meritissumo, Plaut. Ep. 3, 3, 49; Cic. de Or. 1, 55, 234; S. C. ap. Plin. Ep. 8, 6, 6; ap. Flor. 1, 9.—Post-class.: meritissime, Sol. 7, 18.—b. In partic.: libens (lubens) merito, a form of expression used in paying vows; v. libens, under libet.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
mereō uī, itus, ēre, dep.
2 SMAR-, to deserve, merit, be entitled to, be worthy of : nec minimum decus, H.: supplicium, O.: cur pereat, O.: Nil suave meritum est, no kindness has been deserved , T.: qualem meruit, Pallanta remitto, as he deserves , i. e. dead , V.: ut decoraretur: Danaūm ut caderem manu, V.: Quae merui vitio perdere cuncta meo, O.— To earn, acquire, gain, obtain : non amplius duodecim aeris: stipendia in eo bello, i. e. served as a soldier : diadema Quirini, Iu.: odium, Cs.: aera, H.: scelus, incur , V.— To get by purchase, buy, purchase : quid arbitramini Rheginos merere velle, ut, etc., what price do you think they would take?—To serve for pay, serve as a soldier : complurīs annos, Cs.: triennio sub Hasdrubale, L.: equo, serve in the cavalry : pedibus, serve in the infantry , L.— To confer a favor, render service : de re p. optime: Si bene quid de te merui, V.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *merēō, from earlier *merējō, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mr̥-éh₁-yeti, from *(s)mer- (“to assign, allot”). Cognate of Ancient Greek μέρος (méros, “share, portion”). See also Latin merx, Ancient Greek μείρομαι (meíromai, “to receive as one's portion or due”) and Hittite 𒈥𒀝𒍣 (mar-ak-zi /marktsi/, “to cut up, divide (a sacrifice), separate, unravel”).
Elsewhere
- Catalanmerèixerfrom Vulgar Latin *merēscere
- Portuguesemerecerfrom Vulgar Latin *merēscere
- Spanishmerecerfrom Vulgar Latin *merēscere
- Sardinianmerèscherefrom Vulgar Latin *merēscere
- Sardinianmedèscirifrom Vulgar Latin *merēscere
- Sardinianmerescifrom Vulgar Latin *merēscere
- Sardinianmerèscirifrom Vulgar Latin *merēscere
- Sardinianmerèsserefrom Vulgar Latin *merēscere
- Aragonesemereixerfrom Vulgar Latin *merēscere
- Aragonesemerexerfrom Vulgar Latin *merēscere
Gallo-Romance
- Frenchmérirfrom Old French merir
- Englishmeritfrom Old French merir
- Old Catalanmerir
Italo-Romance
- Italianmerire
- Sicilianmerire
Gallo-Italic
- Old Lombardmerir
Ibero-Romance
- Old Spanishmerer
In English words that came into English from mereō
- meritmeritum
- emeritusēmeritus
- demeritdēmeritum
- meritoriousmeritōrius
- meretriciousmeretrīcius
- emeritaēmerita
- meretrixmeretrīx
- emeritumēmeritum
- promeritpromeritus
- immeritousimmeritus