meed
/mi:d/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. A fitting reward or recompense: Something given or received as payment, recognition, or deserved compensation for service, merit, or hardship. This term is now chiefly poetic or archaic. 2. A deserved portion or share: The part one is entitled to receive, especially from praise or honor.
Usage
The word "meed" is used to describe a reward that is precisely appropriate or merited. It is not a general term for any reward, but specifically one that is justly earned. It is most commonly found in historical, literary, or poetic contexts.
Examples
- The knight received lands and titles as a meed for his valor in battle.
- In her poem, she speaks of love as the highest meed the heart can desire.
- The old tales promise a rich meed to those who complete the heroic quest.
Advanced Usage
- "To give someone their meed": To give someone the full reward or recognition they deserve.
- The historian finally gave the unsung inventor his meed of praise.
- Used in formal or rhetorical language to elevate the concept of a just reward.
- His lifelong dedication to charity was its own meed.
Variants and Related Words
- Meedful (adj, archaic): Deserving of reward; meritorious.
- Meedless (adj, archaic): Undeserving; without merit or reward.
Synonyms
- Reward: Something given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement.
- Recompense: Compensation or payment for something done or suffered.
- Guerdon (literary): A reward or recompense.
- Deserts (as in "just deserts"): What one deserves, especially for punishment or reward.
Idioms and Phrases
- To have one's meed: To receive one's deserved portion, whether of praise, blame, or consequence.
- The critic was harsh, but the artist felt he had his meed of attention.