[UN-1 7. Cf. MDu. onwerdich (Du. onwaardig), OS. unwerdig, MLG. unwerlich, OHG. unwirdîg (MHG. unwirdic, -ec, G. unwürdig), ON. úverðugr (Norw. uverdug, Sw. ovärdig, Da. uværdig), also UNWORTH and WANWORDY adjs.]
A. adj. I. 1. Of things: Deficient in worth; having little or no value; worthless.
In later use chiefly ellipt. from 3 b.
a. 1240. Wohunge, in O. E. Hom., I. 281. Ne was neauer unwurði þing chepet swa deore.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, IV. 196. Ane hamelat neir thair-by, A litill toune and vnworthy.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVII. cxv. (Bodl. MS.). Barlich … haþ þe fouleste strawe of alle corne & vnworthieste stobles.
c. 1440. Gesta Rom., xiii. 43. Loo! what I haue suffred for the, where as I put non vnworthier thing for the then my owne body.
c. 1445. Pecock, Donet, 33. Whanne a man … beriþ in his hond sum pore vnworþi sticke.
c. 1532. Du Wes, Introd. Fr., in Palsgr., 896. Myn accustomed poore and unworthy servyce.
1599. Shaks., Hen. V., I. ii. 228. France being ours, wee’l bend it to our Awe … Or lay these bones in an vnworthy Vrne.
1618. J. Taylor (Water P.), Penniless Pilgr., D 2. My poore vnable and vnworthy pen.
1634. Bp. Hall, Contempl., N. T., IV. vi. Our weak and unworthy prayers.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., II. 517. Whose leaves … become the unworthy browse Of buffaloes.
1819. Shelley, Cenci, III. i. 129. These limbs, the unworthy temple of Thy spirit.
1854. Poultry Chron., II. 78/1. To withhold … prizes in any of the classes in which the specimens are deemed unworthy.
b. Not reputable; hurtful or injurious to reputation; discreditable.
1693. Dryden, Exam. Poet., Ded. ¶ 1. A kind of contempt for those who have risen by unworthy ways.
1735. Thomson, Liberty, III. 376. Unworthy joys! that wasteful leave behind … No secret ray to glad the conscious soul.
1795–6. Wordsw., Borderers, I. 255. I suspect unworthy tales Have reached his ear.
1813. Shelley, Q. Mab, V. 163. Blunting the keenness of his spiritual sense With narrow schemings and unworthy cares.
1882. Besant, All Sorts, xxvi. She repressed her indignation at this unworthy suggestion.
2. Of persons: Not worthy; lacking worth or merit; undeserving; hence, despicable, contemptible.
α. a. 1240. Wohunge, in O. E. Hom., I. 279. Schomeliche spateling of unwurði ribauz.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 23882. Amang þaa hirdes am i an, Sa wreche vnworthi wat i nan. Ibid. (c. 1375), 20015 (Fairf.). Al if I be vn-worþi man.
c. 1400. Maundev. (Roxb.), iii. 10. He pryues þaim þat him think vnworthy.
1456. Sir G. Haye, Law Arms (S.T.S.), 302. Quhen princis prayis for unworthy personis, God is offendit.
1535. Coverdale, Ecclus. xxix. 32. Yet shall he be taken as vnworthy, & heare many bytter rough wordes.
1596. Shaks., Merch. V., II. i. 37. So may I … Misse that which one vnworthier may attaine.
1617. Woodall, Surg. Mate, Pref., Wks. (1639), B 3. Unworthy impostors under the names of Surgeons.
1686. W. De Britaine, Hum. Prud., xi. 49. External Fortunes may befal the unworthyest Persons.
1737. E. Lewis, Lett. to Swift, 30 June. [A] family … brought to ruin by that unworthy man lord Kinnoul.
1823. Scott, Quentin D., xv. Campo-basso, the unworthy favourite of Duke Charles, with … his base, treacherous spirit.
1835. G. P. R. James, Gipsy, iii. An unworthy blackguard of that name.
1846. Mrs. A. Marsh, Father Darcy, II. viii. 136. The authority confided to me—unworthy—by the church.
absol. c. 1400. trans. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh., 52. He þat geuys þe giftys … to vnworthy and to hem þat has non nede.
1555. Eden, Decades (Arb.), 59. Fortune … sumtymes fauoureth the vnworthyest.
1602. [see SPURN sb.1 4].
a. 1658. Lovelace, Poems (1659), 30. ’Tis the same wrong th’ unworthy to inthrone.
1864. Fox, trans. K. Ælfred’s Boeth. (1895), 97. Canst thou now understand how great dishonour power brings on the unworthy when he receives it?
β. c. 1475. Cath. Angl., 424/1 (A.). Vn Wordy, jndignus, jgnobilis.
1796. R. Gall, Tint Quey (1819), 29. This is a bonny speech … To come frae your unwordy head.
c. 1820. Hogg, Tales & Sk. (1837), II. 147. Ah! the unwordy rascal!
b. Conventionally or devotionally used as an expression of humility.
c. 1532. Du Wes, Introd. Fr., in Palsgr., 1036. Written by your unworthy servant.
1660. Allestre, Gentl. Calling, 171. O most … bountiful Lord, who … hast in an extraordinary measure abounded to me thy unworthiest Servant.
a. 1700. in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ., IX. 334. Str Agnes of the Jnfant Jesus. Priouresse unworthy. Ibid. (1754), VIII. 249. S[iste]r Agnes Howard Abbess unw[orth]y.
3. With const. Not of sufficient merit, excellence, or worth. a. With to (Sc. † till) and inf. (Chiefly of persons.)
a. 1300. Cursor M., 14927. Crist and his moder do me to spede! Þat vn-worthi es for to rede.
a. 1310. in Wright, Spec. Lyric P., 73. Jesu, thah ich be unworthi To love the.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, II. 629. I wot me vnworthy þis wirdis to fall.
c. 1449. Pecock, Repr., IV. iii. 428. Thanne bi lijk argument … ech gouernaunce and ech thing … weren vnleeful and vnworthi to be had and vsid.
c. 1450. St. Cuthbert (Surtees), 2709. I am vnworthy … Slike hy degre to come toward.
1526. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 84 b. Proclamynge themselfe synners & vnworthy to lyue.
1563. A. Nowell, in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden), 21. [To] iudge whether it [= his MS. Catechism] were not unwoorthie … to be maide publike.
1651. Hobbes, Leviath., II. xxvii. 159. He … is … thought unworthy to have any charge, or preferment in Warre.
1667. Milton, P. L., XII. 91. Since hee [sc. man] permits Within himself unworthie Powers to reign Over free Reason. Ibid. (1671), P. R., IV. 346. The rest [are] … unworthy to compare With Sion’s songs.
1795. Pope, Iliad, II. 862. His troops in forty ships Podarces led,… Nor he unworthy to command the host.
1789. Cowper, Queen’s Visit, 67. The cumb’rous throng, Not else unworthy to be fear’d.
1827. Pollok, Course T., I. 121. Unworthy is your servant To stand in presence of the King.
1865. Kingsley, Herew., xl. His soul, unworthy to be delivered from evil.
b. With of, † to, † for (something specified), or clause.
1382. Wyclif, Tobit iii. 19. Or I was vnwrthi to hem, or thei parauenture to me were not wrthi. Ibid., Acts xiii. 46. Ȝe … han demed vs vnworthi of [1388 to] euere lasting lyf.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Clerk’s T., 359. Lord, vndigne and vnworthy Am I, to thilke honour.
1565. Cooper, Thesaurus, Amicitia indigni, vnworthy of friendship.
1589. Hakluyt, Voy., To Rdr. ¶ 9. I accompt him vnworthy of future fauours.
1608. Shaks., Per., II. v. 40. I am unworthy for her schoolmaster.
1615. Sir W. Mure, Misc. Poems, xiv. 14. Quhich endit ye dayes of this sensuall slaue, Wnwordy the earth sould ȝeild him a graue.
1674. Jackson’s Recant., A 4. I thought my self unworthy of a forreign Plantation.
1784. Cowper, Task, III. 731. Neglected Nature pines, Abandon’d, as unworthy of our love.
1823. Mrs. Hemans, Siege Valencia, ii. 157. The noble daughter of Pelayo’s line Hath nought to ask, unworthy of the name Which is a nation’s heritage.
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., ii. I. 250. Nor did he appear to the public unworthy of his high fortunes.
c. Of superior worth or merit. (Const. to.)
1746. Francis, trans. Hor., Sat., II. ii. 139. Why lives in deep Distress A Man unworthy to be poor?
4. a. Of treatment, etc.: Not deserved, warranted, or justified; unmerited.
Chiefly of treatment, fortune, etc., below the deserts or merit of the person or persons concerned.
1382. Wyclif, 2 Macc. xiv. 42. Cheesynge for to dye nobly, rather than … aȝeinis his birthis for to be ledd with vnworthi wrongis.
a. 1425. trans. Arderne’s Treat. Fistula, etc., 30. It seemeþ … vnworþi for to vse wele þingis y-giffe þat kan noȝt gette hym mo þingis.
1533. Bellenden, Livy, IV. viii. With mony vthir nocht vnwourthy lovingis.
1560. Daus, trans. Sleidane’s Comm., 402 b. This vnworthie and lamentable fortune of the Norinbergians.
1596. Spenser, F. Q., VI. iv. 34. He inly touched was With tender ruth for her vnworthy griefe.
1603. Knolles, Hist. Turks (1621), 146. [They] ceased not … vntill they had wrought his vnworthie destruction.
1648. J. Beaumont, Psyche, VII. cxviii. The holy Travellers through Cold … And northern Blasts, took their unworthy way.
1700. Dryden, Theodore & Hon., 127. Mov’d with unworthy Usage of the Maid.
1854. Trench, Synonyms N. T., 194. Absolutely unworthy suffering there is none.
1879. Froude, Cæsar, xxii. 368. The unworthy treatment of their great enemy.
† b. Dishonoring, low, mean. Const. to. Obs.
1694. J. Collier, Misc. Ess., I. i. 33. How unworthy and unchristian it is to play upon the Indigence … of another.
5. That has not requisite worth or merit; inferior to or below what is merited or deserved; base.
1533. Bellenden, Livy, II. xiv. (S.T.S.), I. 184. Thinkand richt vnworthy þat þare hail sollicitude … was direkkit to na vthir fyne.
1598. Yong, Diana, 130. This villany did the traitor Alfeus work,… for the contempt, which she had of his vnwoorthy affection.
1606. Shaks., Ant. & Cl., III. xiii. 84. Your Cæsars Father oft … Bestow’d his lips on that vnworthy place, As it rain’d kisses.
1662. Stillingfl., Orig. Sacræ, III. iii. § 4. Far be such unworthy thoughts from our apprehensions of a Deity.
1760. Impostors Detected, IV. iii. II. 190. I represented to him how unworthy the profession … was to one of his character.
1820. Lamb, True Story, Wks. 1908, I. 256. A little festival … (though it must bear an unworthier name) … in honour of her guest’s recovery.
b. Beneath or below, unbecoming or unbefitting, the character, repute, or dignity of a person, etc.; not worthy or deserving of notice, etc.
1697. Dryden, Æneis, XII. 1156. A wound unworthy of our state to feel. Ibid. (1700), Pref. Fables, ¶ 14. Some people [think] … these tales … unworthy of my pains.
1733. Pope, Lett. to Swift, 2 April. I will take care to suppress things unworthy of him.
1780. Mirror, No. 73. Some of them are new, and not unworthy of notice.
1869. Tozer, Highl. Turkey, I. 303. A series of domestic tragedies … hardly unworthy of the palace of Atreus at Mycenæ.
II. With ellipse of of. 6. Not deserving, meriting, or worthy of. a. Of persons. † Also absol.
1382. Wyclif, Job xxx. 2. Thei weren trowid vnwrthi that lir [L. vita ipsa indigni]. Ibid., Ecclus. xxv. 11. Blisful … [is he] that seruede not to the vnwrthi hymself [L. indignis se].
1535. Lett. Suppress. Monast. (Camden), 103. The poore house which I under God … (though unworthye suche a cure) have hadde mynistration and rule of.
a. 1589. Palfreyman, Baldwin’s Mor. Philos. (1600), 64 b. Hee is … much vnworthy honour, that seeketh his owne wealth and oppresseth other.
1600. Shaks., Much Ado, II. iii. 216 (Q.). How much he is vnworthy so good a lady.
1634. Sir T. Herbert, Trav., 219. Iorwerth … was thought vnworthy the Crowne and dignitie.
1718. Pope, Iliad, IX. 88. Curs’d is the man,… Unworthy property, unworthy light,… who delights in war.
1794. Mrs. Radcliffe, Myst. Udolpho, li. She again beheld … Valancourt unworthy the esteem and tenderness she had once bestowed upon him.
1836. Dickens, Sk. Boz, New Year. Until he proves himself unworthy the confidence we repose in him.
1874. Dasent, Half a Life, III. 78. This only shows you are quite unworthy such luck.
b. Of things, etc.
1634. Sir T. Herbert, Trav., 207. A place not vnworthy the remembrance.
1661. Earl Orrery, St. Lett. (1742), 18. It may not be unworthy your grace’s observation, that [etc.].
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., III. 6. All other themes … Are worn with use, unworthy me to write.
1718. Prior, Poems, Postscr. A Panegyric, not unworthy the Pen of some future Pliny.
1765. Museum Rust., IV. 334. Agriculture … is … not unworthy even the patriot’s care.
1809. Syd. Smith, Serm., II. 335. Many men … imagine, that this department of medicine is unworthy the name of science.
1832. R. & J. Lander, Exped. Niger, I. i. 26. Nothing seemed unworthy his acceptance, from fine scarlet cloth to a child’s farthing whistle.
1882. Daily News, 19 Aug., 4/7. Nor is it unworthy notice that [etc.].
7. Not befitting or suiting (a person, etc.); derogatory to the dignity, standing, or character of; below the level of.
1646. H. Lawrence, Comm. Angells, 99. Other sins have their aggravations; but this is … the most unworthy a man.
1682. B. Whitelocke’s Mem., Pref. His posthumous work contains … many things most false, and unworthy so great a name.
1720. Pope, Iliad, XX. 244. Unmanly pride, Unworthy the high race from which we came.
1761. Hume, Hist. Eng., III. lii. 128. Rigours … unworthy men of their profession.
1798. S. & Ht. Lee, Canterb. T., Yng. Lady’s T., II. 394. For her father to expatiate on such baubles, was unworthy both his experience and sex.
1810. Southey, Kehama, VII. v. The wings of Eagle or of Cherubim Had seem’d unworthy him.
1852. J. H. Newman, Idea of a University (1873), 53. It would … have been unworthy a genius … so analytical as Aristotle’s, to have laid it down that [etc.].
1885. ‘Mrs. Alexander,’ At Bay, i. A silly after-glow of boyish folly, unworthy his experience and maturity.
B. adv. Unworthily: in a manner unworthy of (something). Also ellipt. (cf. 6–7).
1661. Earl Orrery, St. Lett. (1742), 19. This would engage him to walk not unworthy such an honour.
1708. Caldwell Papers (Maitl. Club), I. 217. Our sins in walking unworthy of ye great mercy God hath blest us with.
1740. Richardson, Pamela (1741), II. 377. I hope I shall not behave unworthy of the good Instructions.
1760–72. H. Brooke, Fool of Qual. (1792), V. 43. Letting him know how unworthy he should have acted by his daughter, had he imposed … upon her.
1804. Eugenia de Acton, Tale without Title, III. 7. Let us not act unworthy of beings who have a hope in futurity.
C. sb. An unworthy person.
Used only in expressed or implied contrast to WORTHY sb.
1616. Breton, Good & Badde (title-p.), Descriptions of the Worthies, and Vnworthies of this Age. Where The Best may see their Graces, and the Worst discerne their Basenesse.
a. 1661. Fuller, Worthies, I. (1662), 73. The Worthies of England being your Subject, you have mingled many Unworthies among them.
1886. Encycl. Brit., XX. 614/2. John Wilmot … was one of the unworthies of the reign … of Charles II.
1893. E. Peacock, in N. & Q., 22 July, 72. Bothwell, Knox,… and other worthies and unworthies of the troubled Marian period.
