Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Worse in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels worse as verb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913verb
Worse

[OE. wursien, AS. wyrsian to become worse.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordworse
Part of speechverb
Historical etymology[OE. wursien, AS. wyrsian to become worse.]
Selected historical definitionTo make worse; to put disadvantage; to discomfit; to worst. See Worst, v.
Signed record IDwebster1913-worse-verb-b47e9241aa14
Source locatorCIDE.W, paragraph 6087; Gutenberg eBook 669
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 669Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "worse" is labeled verb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[OE. wursien, AS. wyrsian to become worse.]" The selected historical definition says: "To make worse; to put disadvantage; to discomfit; to worst. See Worst, v."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released W records

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noun

Wrong

[AS. wrang. See Wrong, a.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Worst

[OE. werst, worste, wurste, AS. wyrst, wierst, wierrest. See Worse, a.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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