worth

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, Ukrainian вартість (vartistʹ).

adj

1. Having a value of; proper to be exchanged for.
   My house now is worth double what I paid for it.
   Cleanliness is a virtue worth more than others.
   A painting worth thousands.
2. Deserving of.
   I think you’ll find my proposal worth your attention.
   His friendship is not worth having.
   Two years after their first European trophy, Atlético were well worth their second. May 9, 2012, Jonathan Wilson, “Europa League: Radamel Falcao's Atlético Madrid rout Athletic Bilbao”, in the Guardian
3. (obsolete, except in Scots) Valuable, worthwhile.
4. Making a fair equivalent of, repaying or compensating.
   This job is hardly worth the effort.

noun

1. (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
   The December 11 Telegraph story, which accused the Treasury of blocking plans for £30 billion worth of electrification across the rail network …, has rung alarm bells over who is the real source of power concerning rail's development - the Department of Transport or the Treasury? January 12 2022, Tom Allett, “MPs concerned at Treasury's influence on rail industry”, in RAIL, number 948, page 13
2. (uncountable) Merit, excellence.
   Our new director is a man whose worth is well acknowledged.
   Manchester United's Tom Cleverley impressed on his first competitive start and Lampard demonstrated his continued worth at international level in a performance that was little more than a stroll once England swiftly exerted their obvious authority. September 7, 2012, Phil McNulty, “Moldova 0-5 England”, in BBC Sport
3. (uncountable) Wealth, fortune, riches, property, possessions.
   A drug dealer and money launderer who was using cryptocurrency to conceal his funds has had over £1.2 million worth of Bitcoins seized, restrained and then converted into British pounds in the first case of its kind. 2018-07-19, “More than £1.2 million of Bitcoin seized from drug dealer”, in cps.gov.uk, London: Crown Prosecution Service, retrieved 2018-07-20
4. (uncountable) An amount that could be achieved or produced in a specified time.
   Although most modern OTDR equipment can store at least eight days' worth of data (in line with current industry standards), when it was downloaded from the Class 57s involved, it was discovered they had stored just over eight hours' worth of data. November 18 2020, “Network News: Lack of safety compliance a factor in Loughborough SPAD”, in Rail, page 25
5. (uncountable, obsolete) High social standing, noble rank.

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 *werþaną (“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.

verb

1. (obsolete, except in set phrases or dialectal) To be, become, betide.
   Woe worth the man that crosses me.
   Well worth thee, me friend. (May good fortune befall you, my friend.)