merecer

From Vulgar Latin *merēscere, from Latin merēre.

merecer (first-person singular present merezo, first-person singular preterite merecín, past participle merecido)

1. (transitive) to deserve, to merit

• “merecer”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024

From Vulgar Latin *merēscere, from Latin merēre.

• Hyphenation: me‧re‧cer

merecer (first-person singular present mereço, first-person singular preterite mereci, past participle merecido)

1. to merit; to deserve

   Eles merecem respeito. ― They deserve respect.

• merecedor
• merecimento

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *merēscere, from Latin merēre.

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /meɾeˈθeɾ/ [me.ɾeˈθeɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /meɾeˈseɾ/ [me.ɾeˈseɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: me‧re‧cer

merecer (first-person singular present merezco, first-person singular preterite merecí, past participle merecido)

1. to deserve

   Mereces mucho más que esto.

   You deserve a lot more than this.

2. (Argentina, vulgar, slang, dated) to have sex, used especially when talking about a nubile girl

   Ella está en edad de merecer.

   She is of the age of deserving.

• “merecer”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 23rd edition, Royal Spanish Academy, 2014 October 16