Meritorious | Definition of Meritorious by Merriam-Webster
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meritorious
People who demonstrate meritorious behavior certainly "earn" our respect, and you can use that fact to remember that "meritorious" ultimately traces to the Latin verb merēre, which means "to earn." Nowadays, the rewards earned for meritorious acts are likely to be of an immaterial nature: gratitude, admiration, praise, etc.
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