[de.mer.it] n [ME, fr. MF & ML; MF demerite, fr. ML demeritum, fr. neut. of demeritus, pp. of demerere to be undeserving of, fr. L, to earn, fr. de- + merere to merit] (15c) 1 obs: offense
2. a: a quality that deserves blame or lacks merit: fault, defect b: lack of merit
3: a mark usu. entailing a loss of privilege given to an offender