Search Result for "worthiest of blood":

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Worthy \Wor"thy\, a. [Compar. Worthier; superl. Worthiest.] [OE. worthi, wur[thorn]i, from worth, wur[thorn], n.; cf. Icel. ver[eth]ugr, D. waardig, G. w["u]rdig, OHG. wird[imac]g. See Worth, n.] [1913 Webster] 1. Having worth or excellence; possessing merit; valuable; deserving; estimable; excellent; virtuous. [1913 Webster] Full worthy was he in his lordes war. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] These banished men that I have kept withal Are men endued with worthy qualities. --Shak. [1913 Webster] Happier thou mayst be, worthier canst not be. --Milton. [1913 Webster] This worthy mind should worthy things embrace. --Sir J. Davies. [1913 Webster] 2. Having suitable, adapted, or equivalent qualities or value; -- usually with of before the thing compared or the object; more rarely, with a following infinitive instead of of, or with that; as, worthy of, equal in excellence, value, or dignity to; entitled to; meriting; -- usually in a good sense, but sometimes in a bad one. [1913 Webster] No, Warwick, thou art worthy of the sway. --Shak. [1913 Webster] The merciless Macdonwald, Worthy to be a rebel. --Shak. [1913 Webster] Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. --Matt. iii. 11. [1913 Webster] And thou art worthy that thou shouldst not know More happiness. --Milton. [1913 Webster] The lodging is well worthy of the guest. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 3. Of high station; of high social position. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Worthy women of the town. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] Worthiest of blood (Eng. Law of Descent), most worthy of those of the same blood to succeed or inherit; -- applied to males, and expressive of the preference given them over females. --Burrill. [1913 Webster]
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

WORTHIEST OF BLOOD. All expression to designate that, in descent, the sons are to be preferred to daughters, which is the law of England. See some singular reasons given for this, in Plowd. 305.