Etymograph

English

worthly

Worthly comes from Old English weorþlīċ ‘important, valuable, splendid, worthy,…’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-1‘to turn’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*werþaz2‘worthy, valuable’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*werþą3‘worth, value’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*werþalīkaz4‘worthy’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150weorþlīċ4‘important, valuable, splendid, worthy, estimable, honorable, distinguished, exalted, fit’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500worthely4
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1918worthly4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *werþaz, which cites Kroonen, Matasović, Orel
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *werþą
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *werþalīkaz
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English worthly
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, American Institute of Mining Engineers: “I hope that the few details set down here…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *werþaz, which cites Kroonen, Matasović, Orel‘to turn’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*werþazWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *werþą‘worthy, valuable’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*werþąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *werþalīkaz‘worth, value’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*werþalīkazWiktionary, English worthly‘worthy’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150weorþlīċWiktionary, English worthly‘important, valuable, splendid, worthy, estimable, honorable, distinguished, exalted, fit’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500worthelyWiktionary, English worthly
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1918worthlyWiktionary, English worthly. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, American Institute of Mining Engineers: “I hope that the few details set down here…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn’

university, version, weird, conversation, word, universe, ridiculous, diversity, versus, diverse, verse, divorce, vertical, advertisement, versatile, convertible, adversity, ridicule, advert, diversification, divert, revert, pervert, vortex, vertex, vertigo, avert, derision, vertebrate, subvert, introvert, vert, verso, deride, derisive, perversity, wurst, 69 more

Today it means

adj Having great worth or value; valuable; important; dignified; stately; excellent; worthy; deserving (of).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “worthly”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *werþaz, Proto-Germanic *werþą, Proto-Germanic *werþalīkaz. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wert- / worthly

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