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de·serve

(dĭ-zûrv)

tr.v. de·served, de·serv·ing, de·serves

To be worthy of; merit: She deserves a raise. He deserves to be treated with respect. See Synonyms at earn.

[Middle English deserven, from Old French deservir, from Latin dēservīre, to serve zealously : dē-, intensive pref.; see DE- + servīre, to serve; see SERVE.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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