It’s natural for people to crave meed, which is an Old English word for a reward, or a deserved share of something. In its earliest usage it was synonymous with wages or something given in exchange for labor. This was the most common usage through the 17th century, when it eventually evolved into a recognition of excellence. Then it became a poetic term, seen in 1842 in Tennyson’s “Oenone”: “Pallas and Aphrodite, claiming each This meed of fairest.” The term has all but dropped out of modern usage, but it’s worth revisiting for an especially well-deserved reward.