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meed

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meed¹

  • /miːd/ US, UK

Sounds like mead · Rhymes with -iːd

Where it comes from

From Middle English meede, mede, from Old English mēd, meord, meard, meorþ (“meed, reward, pay, price, compensation, bribe”), from Proto-West Germanic *miʀdu, from Proto-Germanic *mizdō (“meed”), from Proto-Indo-European *misdʰéh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to exchange”).

Cognate with obsolete Dutch miede (“wages”), Low German Meed (“rent”), German Miete (“rent”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌶𐌳𐍉 (mizdō, “meed, reward, payment, recompense”); further Ancient Greek μισθός (misthós, “wage”), Old Church Slavonic мьзда (mĭzda, “reward”), Sanskrit मीळ्ह (mīḷhá), Sanskrit मीढ (mīḍhá), Avestan 𐬨𐬍𐬲𐬛𐬀 (mīžda).

noun meeds

  1. archaic, literary A payment or recompense made for services rendered or in recognition of some achievement; reward; award. For well ſhe wiſt,as true it was indeed / That her liues Lord and patrone of her health / Right well deſerued as his duefull meed, / Her loue,her ſeruice,and her vtmoſt wealth.
  2. A gift; bribe.
  3. dated Merit; worth. […]my meed hath got me fame:[…]

meed²

  • /miːd/ US, UK

Sounds like mead · Rhymes with -iːd

Where it comes from

From Middle English meden, from Old English *mēdian (“to reward, bribe”), from Proto-West Germanic *miʀdōn, from Proto-Germanic *mizdōną (“to reward”), from Proto-Indo-European *misdʰ- (“to pay”). Cognate with German Low German meden (“to hire, lease, rent”), German mieten (“to rent”).

verb meeds · meeding · meeded

  1. transitive To reward; bribe.
  2. transitive To deserve; merit.

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MLA

"meed." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/meed. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

meed. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/meed

Chicago

"meed." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/meed.

BibTeX
@misc{meed_2026,
  title = {meed},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/meed},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}