Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Deserve \De*serve"\ (d[-e]*z[~e]rv"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   {Deserved}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Deserving}.] [OF. deservir,
   desservir, to merit, L. deservire to serve zealously, be
   devoted to; de- + servire to serve. See {Serve}.]
   1. To earn by service; to be worthy of (something due, either
      good or evil); to merit; to be entitled to; as, the
      laborer deserves his wages; a work of value deserves
      praise.

            God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity
            deserveth.                            --Job xi. 6.

            John Gay deserved to be a favorite.   --Thackeray.

            Encouragement is not held out to things that deserve
            reprehension.                         --Burke.

   2. To serve; to treat; to benefit. [Obs.]

            A man that hath So well deserved me.  --Massinger.

Deserving \De*serv"ing\, n.
   Desert; merit.

         A person of great deservings from the republic.
                                                  --Swift.

Deserving \De*serv"ing\, a.
   Meritorious; worthy; as, a deserving person or act. --
   {De*serv"ing*ly}, adv.

Source : WordNet®

deserving
     adj : having sufficient worth; "an idea worth considering"; "a
           cause deserving or meriting support"; "the deserving
           poor" (often used ironically) [syn: {deserving(p)}, {meriting(p)},
            {worth(p)}]