8 letters · 12 points in Scrabble
originFrom the Latin ēmeritum (“a thing earned upon completion of a term of service”), a substantive use of the neuter singular form of ēmeritus (“earned, merited, having been earned; served, having done one’s service”), the perfect passive participle of ēmereō (“to earn, to merit”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0