worthies

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of worthy.

   A row of civic worthies sat on the stage behind the speaker.

   The portrait gallery honored the parish worthies of past centuries.

   Note

   A regular plural, with the final y of worthy becoming -ies. The noun is the adjective turned into a person: someone of worth, either eminent in public life or simply good and wise. The two shades often blur in phrases like civic worthies or local worthies. Its spelling matches the verb form meaning 'honors', but context almost always shows which one is meant.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of worthy.

   Note

   Behind this form is a transitive verb that always takes an object. One worthies a person, a name or a deed by treating it as worthy: honoring, exalting or esteeming it. The verb is now archaic and suits historical or deliberately elevated writing. In everyday prose, honors or esteems does the same job. Because it looks exactly like the plural noun for eminent people, the object that follows is what marks it as a verb.

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