heftyadj.
/ˈhɛfti/, U.S. /ˈhɛfti/ Originally dialect and U.S.
1. Weighty, heavy; hard, grievous. Also, large or significant in size, and as adverb, ‘powerfully’, exceedingly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [adjective] > heavy
heavyc1000
unlightc1330
sada1375
chargeousa1382
lumpinga1400
ponderousa1400
weighingc1400
poisant1477
peisant1483
wieldlya1500
weighty1500
peiseda1522
burdenous1529
weightful1530
grave1570
leaden1578
plumbeousa1586
wieldy1592
peisy1599
well-weighing?1615
lead-like1816
hefty1867
the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > severity > [adjective]
heavyc825
grimc900
strongeOE
hardeOE
drearyOE
eileOE
sweerOE
deara1000
bitterOE
tartc1000
smartOE
unridec1175
sharp?c1225
straitc1275
grievousc1290
fellc1330
shrewda1387
snella1400
unsterna1400
vilea1400
importunea1425
ungainc1425
thrallc1430
peisant1483
sore?a1513
weighty1540
heinous?1541
urgent?1542
asperous?1567
dure1567
spiny1586
searching1590
hoara1600
vengible1601
flinty1613
tugging1642
atrocious1733
uncannya1774
severe1774
stern1830
punishing1833
hefty1867
solid1916
the world > life > the body > bodily height > tallness > [adjective] > and broad
massya1382
stout1390
burlyc1400
corporalc1475
massive1485
poisy1538
big-made1566
chopping1566
grossa1578
large-bodied1577
weighty1581
burly-boned1590
mastya1593
lumbering1593
giantisha1635
gigantic1651
mastiff1668
large-made1725
lusty1777
bowerly1794
squelching1854
beef to the heel(s)1867
hefty1867
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > very
tooc888
swith971
wellOE
wellOE
fullOE
rightc1175
muchc1225
wellac1275
gainlya1375
endlyc1440
hard?1440
very1448
odda1500
great1535
jolly1549
fellc1600
veryvery1649
gooda1655
vastly1664
strange1667
bloody1676
ever so1686
heartily1727
real1771
precious1775
quarely1805
murry1818
très1819
freely1820
powerfula1822
gurt1824
almighty1830
heap1832
all-fired1833
gradely1850
real1856
bonny1857
heavens1858
veddy1859
canny1867
some1867
oh-so1881
storming1883
spanking1886
socking1896
hefty1898
velly1898
fair dinkum1904
plurry1907
Pygmalion1914
dinkum1915
beaucoup1918
dirty1920
molto1923
snorting1924
honking1929
hellishing1931
thumpingly1948
way1965
mega1966
mondo1968
seriously1970
totally1972
mucho1978
stonking1990
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective]
mickleeOE
wideOE
largec1300
greata1325
muchc1330
mightyc1390
millionc1390
dreicha1400
rudea1450
massive1581
massy1588
heavy1728
magnitudinous1777
powerful1800
almighty1824
tall1842
hefty1930
honking1943
mondo1968
1867 F. H. Ludlow Little Brother 167 I reckon I could forgive him..but I'm afeard it'd come hefty on me.
1871 N.Y. Tribune 21 Jan. He is, as a Yankee would say, a little hefty for the ideal lover.
1873 ‘Josiah Allen's Wife’ My Opinions & Betsey Bobbet's 372 I never looked well in the saddle any way bein’ so hefty.
1893 P. H. Emerson On Eng. Lagoons xxii. 100 Rum night this — hefty weather. Don't it blow and snow.
1898 R. Kipling Land & Sea Tales (1923) 135 What are we going to do? It's hefty damp here.
1905 Daily Chron. 18 Sept. 8/2 When an American girl does that, you can guess there's something ‘mighty hefty’ weighing her down.
1908 Daily Chron. 1 July 3/3 Mr. Barnes of New York was hefty with the trigger.
1925 E. F. Norton in E. F. Norton et al. Fight for Everest: 1924 39 The bucolic bumpkin with coarse features and slow brain fails no less than the ‘hefty’ giant.
1930 J. B. Priestley Angel Pavement ii. 85 It's a hefty commission all right.
1930 Diary of Public School Girl 32 Played in a game with Highlands. Got some good hefty bangs.
1958 Oxf. Mag. 22 May 461/1 Slighter than Hitchcock but heftier than Chaplin.
1959 Manch. Guardian 29 Jan. 5/5 You may protect yourself in respect of the very hefty bill for any medical treatment if someone falls ill..while you are abroad.
1972 Sunday Times 30 Jan. 63/5 On top of the hefty basic wage is a bonus system from the pool of tips.
1972 Sunday Tel. 6 Feb. 14/6 This hefty book, written in brisk journalese, brings Capone to life.
2. dialect. Violent. [Compare German heftig.]
ΚΠ
1886 F. H. Burnett Little Ld. Fauntleroy (1887) xi. 222 A hefty un she was—a regular tiger-cat.
3. U.S. Easy to lift or handle.
ΚΠ
1885 American 9 232 It should be hefty, light and of a form that can be easily held in the hand.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1867