Archaic term meaning high value or great worth; the quality of being precious or costly.
From 'dear' (precious, costly, from Old English 'deore') plus 'worth' (value, from Old English 'weorþ'). An archaic compound emphasizing value.
Medieval English speakers used 'dearworth' to mean something precious, combining two words for value—in modern English we'd just say 'priceless,' but the compound shows how language used to layer synonyms for emphasis.
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