weightn.1
/weɪt/, U.S. /weɪt/ I. Measurement of quantity by means of weighing; quantity (in the abstract) as determined in this way.† 6. The action of weighing. Obsolete. rare.
1. by weight: as determined by weighing. †without weight: taken unweighed.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > as determined by weighing [phrase]
by weightc1000
in pound1596
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > as determined by weighing [phrase] > taken unweighed
without weight1539
c1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 146 Genim þas wyrte & swinen smeru..ægþres gelice micel be wihte.
Cf. c1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 148 Genim..ealra þyssa wyrta gelice fela be gewihte.]
a1123 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1086 (Laud) Manig marc goldes & ma hundred punda seolfres. Ðet he nam be wihte..of his land~leode.
c1325 Chron. Eng. 503 in J. Ritson Anc. Eng. Metrical Romanceës (1802) II He made thre condlen by wyht.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 44 Huanne þo þet zelleþ be wyȝte purchaceþ and makeþ zuo moche þet [etc.].
c1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine 1238 Alle soules..That shal to blisse, I peyse hem alle be wyte Whether in goodnesse thei ben heuy or lyghte.
c1460 Contin. Brut. 492 It was ordeyned þat þe gold in Englissh coygne shuld be weyed, & none receyved but by weght.
1539 Bible (Great) 2 Kings xxv. 16 The brasse of all these vesselles was without wayght.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. i. 32 To distribute the bysket..by weight.
1601 F. Tate Househ. Ord. Edward II (1876) §15. 13 The serjant chaundeler shal receve the wax & lightes bi waight from the clarke of the spicery.
c1612 Turners Dish in Rollins Pepysian Garl. (1922) 36 You that sel your wares by waight, and live vpon the trade.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage ii. iii. 98 Besides iewels, and brasse, and iron, without weight, with Cedars and stones without number.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 113 With Axes first they cleave the Wine, and thence By weight, the solid portions they dispence. View more context for this quotation
1730 Conduitt Observ. Coins (1774) 10 Foreigners who take our guineas in quantities only by weight, may melt down the heavy ones.
1811 A. T. Thomson London Dispensatory iii. 429 The proportions of acid and water were equal by weight.
1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 15 Of paper a pile..Which by weight had been purchas'd.
2. Associated with measure and number, esp. in figurative expressions referring to due proportion.
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a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 439 Met of corn and wigte of fe And merke of felde first fond he.
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 7690 For he made alle thyng thurgh myght and sleght In certain noumbre and mesure and weght.
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 321 It is good & resonable men to haue chirchis in mesure, & in numbre, & in weyhte, aftir þe hooly trinitee.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 23564 Of his werkes es noht vnhale, Bot al in mette and weiht and tale.
c1400 26 Pol. Poems xiv. 68 Let comon lawe his cours hold, Euene mesure, mett, and wyȝt.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Preaching of Swallow l. 1674 in Poems (1981) 66 All creature he maid for thi behufe..In number, wecht, and dew proportioun.
1551 R. Crowley Pleasure & Payne sig. Diii You that by disceyte haue wonne Were it in weyght or in measure.
1588 A. King in Catholic Tractates (S.T.S.) 214 To vse falset in buying, selling or changing, in pryce, in weicht or mesure.
3. Phr.1857 G. A. Lawrence Guy Livingstone i He had slowly gravitated on into his present position, on the old Ring principle—‘weight must tell’.
a. Ponderability, as a general property of material substances; relative heaviness.Also transferred in Phrenology (see quot. 1860).
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the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun]
weightc1385
avoirdupois1600
gravity1622
ponderability1682
ponderableness1846
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Fairf. MS.) Prol. 231 His gilte here was corowned with a sonne I-stede of golde for heuynesse and wyght.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxx. 1383 Tweye þinges makeþ weighte, ligh[t]nesse and heuynesse.
14.. J. Lydgate Beware Doubleness 92 In balaunce whan they be peised, For lakke of weght they be bore down.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin iii. 57 They..seide it was a thynge inpossible to charge, they [the stones] were of soche gretnesse and wight.
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. iii. 120 Our bloods Of colour, waight, and heat, pour'd all together, Would quite confound distinction. View more context for this quotation
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 315/1 The Axe for the cutting of the great and large Bones..hath weight and substance in it.
1728 A. Pope Dunciad i. 169 As clocks to weight their nimble motion owe, The wheels above urg'd by the load below.
1765 Museum Rusticum 4 74 The wool had then very likely gained weight considerably.
a1790 R. Henry Hist. Great Brit. (1793) VI. 634 If the number of coins..did not actually make a pound in weight.
1858 D. Lardner Hand-bk. Nat. Philos.: Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, & Heat (new ed.) 154 Air possesses, in common with all material substances, the qualities of impenetrability, inertia, and weight.
1860 R. G. Mayne Expos. Lexicon Med. Sci. Weight or Resistance,..a faculty common to man and to the lower animals..taking cognizance of weight and other kinds of mechanical force.
b. In figurative or transferred uses.
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c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1886) ii. pr. iii. 25 Yif any frute of mortal thinges may han any weyhte or pris of welefulnesse.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Miii In the weyght of this noble treasure, standeth all the effect of the pilgrimage of perfection.
1587 A. Day Longus's Daphnis & Chloe sig. π1 Excellently describing the weight of affection, the simplicitie of loue.
1658 R. Flecknoe Enigmaticall Characters 12 He hovers in his choice, like an empty Ballance with no waight of Judgement to incline him to either scale.
1787 J. Wolcot Ode upon Ode in Wks. (1812) I. 443 And really I would rather be knock'd down By weight of argument than weight of fist.
1891 A. Cayley Coll. Math. Papers (1897) XIII. 110 It is for this purpose convenient to introduce the notion of ‘weight’; say a triangle has the weight 1, then a quadrangle,..divisible into two triangles, has the weight 2.
c. Impetus (of a heavy falling body; also of a blow).
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the world > movement > [noun] > force of movement > of a falling body or blow
weightc1440
c1440 Generydes 2163 Ther strokes shuld come with grete wight.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xvii. 693 The gynour..swappit out the stane That evin toward the lift is gane,..And with gret wecht syne duschit doune.
d. In scientific use: (see quots.).
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the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > gravity > [noun]
gravity1692
weight1734
1734 tr. P. L. M. de Maupertuis Diss. Cœlestial Bodies 3 in J. Keill Exam. Burnet's Theory of Earth (ed. 2) A secret Force, we call Weight or Gravity, attracts, urges or impels Bodies towards the Center of the Earth.
1806 O. G. Gregory Treat. Mech. I. i. iii. 46 It will not be difficult to attach a just and scientific meaning to that which is commonly called weight: it is the effort necessary to prevent a body from falling.
1827 N. Arnott Elements Physics I. 14 Weight, therefore, is merely general attraction acting everywhere.
e. Prosody. (See quot.)
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > rhythm > [noun] > quantity
quantity?1566
length1762
weight1898
1898 H. Sweet Anglo-Saxon Reader (ed. 7) Introd. 86 Stress and quantity together constitute weight.
1898 H. Sweet Anglo-Saxon Reader (ed. 7) Introd. 92 This double alliteration is not essential to the metre like that caused by extra weight.
4. In various phrases (see also sense 1):figurative.1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer Popish Kingdome i. f. 13v The Dorekeeper instructed than, what things he ought to do, When as this office great of waight, he there doth come unto.† b. of weight (as adjectival phr.): Heavy. Obsolete.† c. of weight: of full or standard weight. Scottish.
a. in (or †of) weight, added to adjectives such as heavy, light, great, etc.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > in respect of heaviness [phrase]
in (or of) weightc1400
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 4662 Semely dyght..With eglis faire and riche In syght, Off riche gold and mechel of wyght.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope vi Thow wenest that within my bely shold be a precious stone more of weyght than I am.
1486 Bk. St. Albans d iij That noon be heuyer then an other bot like of weyght.
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. xlvijv/1 The said bales..were myche heuyar In weight than they shulde naturally haue ben.
1910 W. Parker in Encycl. Brit. XI. 352/1 They [opossum skins] are..not only very light in weight and warm, but handsome.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > in respect of heaviness [phrase] > heavy
of weight1374
1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Campsall MS.) ii. 1385 For swyfter cours cometh þyng þat is of wighte Whan it descendeth þan don þynges lyghte.
c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame 739 Any thinge that hevy be As stoon or lede or thynge of wight.
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 5473 Lamprays of weȝt Twa hundreth pond ay a pece.
1599 A. Hume Hymnes sig. F3 Crosbowes of waight, and Gnosik gainyeis kein.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 47 Materials of weight, as Sauder, wherewith an unconscionable Plummer can ingrosse his Bill.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > as determined by weighing [phrase] > of full or standard weight
of weight1500
1500 A. Halyburton Ledger (1867) 253 [Certain coins] all of vycht.
1524 in Acts Parl. Scotl. (1875) XII. 41/1 Þe gold sall have comone coursse..þe Hary noble of Weiht for xlb..þe scottis demy of wecht xviijb.
1597 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 228/2 Rois nobilis of gold and wecht.
5. The amount which an article of given price or value ought to weigh. Chiefly elliptical in predicative use = 4c.short weight: see short weight at short adj. 15a.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > amount determined by weighing > amount something ought to weigh
weighta1400
a1400 Eng. Gilds 354 Ȝif þe ferþingloff is in defawte of wyȝte ouer twelf pans, þe bakere is in þe amercy.
1435 in C. L. Kingsford Chron. London 73 That no man..shulde putte fforth ne profre no golde..but yff yt helde the weyht.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 770/1 I pray you, go way this angell, and tell me and he be weygt [Fr. de poyx].
a1585 in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1914) XXIX. 521 Spanishe gold of best and those [pieces] that be weight.
a1626 J. Fletcher & W. Rowley Maid in Mill iv. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ccccv/1 We must be weight in love, no grain too light.
1640 F. Quarles Enchyridion ii. xlv If thou finde him weight, make him thine owne.
1692 J. Locke Some Considerations Lowering Interest 149 Your heavy Money, (i.e. that which is weight according to its Denomination, by the Standard of the Mint).
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 127 It was near two Ounces more than Weight in a Pound.
1804 M. Edgeworth Murad i, in Pop. Tales II. 213 I..protested..that I had never furnished the people..with bread that was not weight.
c1850 Arabian Nights (Rtldg.) 212 The miller..ordered her to bring the scales, to see if the money he was going to pay was weight.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun]
peisinga1382
weighing1430
weighta1483
balancing1599
perlibration1623
trutination1633
ponderation1646
libration1657
scaling1841
weighment1878
a1483 Liber Niger in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 63 One of these clerkes dayly, to be at the weyghtes of wax in the chaundrey.
7. Ponderable matter; that which weighs.
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the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun] > ponderable matter
weight1663
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 53 What resistance dust can be, when waight is laid upon it.
1755 J. Chamberlayne Present State Great Brit. i. iii. viii. 196 They are suffered to be over~charged with Weight laid upon them, that they expire presently.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 28 Slowly falling as a scale that falls, When weight is added only grain by grain.
II. An amount determined or determinable by weighing; a definite quantity weighed or capable of being weighed.
8. figurative.c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Cor. iv. 17 [The] liȝt thing of oure tribulacioun worchith..the euerelasting weiȝte of glorie in vs.a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iii. v. 88 Is she with Posthumus? From whose so many waights of basenesse, cannot A dram of worth be drawne. View more context for this quotation1706 M. Prior Ode to Queen x Impartial Justice holds Her equal Scales; 'Till stronger Virtue does the Weight incline.1852 Ld. Tennyson Ode Wellington 240 One, upon whose hand and heart and brain Once the weight and fate of Europe hung.in extended use.1855 E. J. Hopkins Organ II. 493 [In the New Organ] there are several reservoirs producing different weights of wind.
a. A portion or quantity weighing a definite amount. Often preceded by an expression indicating the amount: in Old English in the genitive, as anes pundes, þreora punda wiht; now in attributive or appositive form, as one pound, three pounds weight. Often abbreviated wt. weight for weight: (see for prep. 27); also (with hyphens) used attributively.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > amount determined by weighing
weightc1000
peisea1382
poise1421
pesantc1500
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > quantity weighing a definite amount
weightc1000
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > as determined by weighing [phrase] > being of the same weight
weight for weight1964
c1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 374 Genim..of ælcere þisne wyrte xx penega wiht.
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 1106 The barres were of gold ful fyne..Full heuy gret and no thyng lyght, In eueriche was a besaunt wight.
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. V. 397 Þe monkes..took wiþ hem..a weyȝte of brede for the iorney [L. pondus panis diurni].
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 21429 If he his mone [Fairf. money] moght not gett,..þat ilk weght þat þar was less, He suld yeild of his aun flexs.
c1430 Chev. Assigne 155 She sente aftur a golde-smyȝte to forge here a cowpe; And..delyuered hym his weyȝtes.
1494 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 314 For iij pund wecht foure vnce..of gold.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 41 Youle aske me why I rather choose to haue a weight of carrion flesh, then to receaue three thousand ducats. View more context for this quotation
1663 Marquis of Worcester Cent. Names & Scantlings Inventions §99 How to make one pound weight to raise an hundred as high as one pound falleth.
a1672 Earl of Sandwich tr. A. A. Barba Art of Metals (1674) i. 12 Lemnian-Earth..is esteemed as rich as Gold, and sold so weight for weight.
1728 E. Smith Compl. Housewife (ed. 2) 164 Mix the Pulp and Meat together, and take the weight and half of Sugar.
1794 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Cambr. 55 The grass..produced from the water-meadows, is chiefly inferior to that (weight for weight) which grows..upon unwatered ground.
1827 H. Steuart Planter's Guide (1828) 150 Close-planting, pruning, and other means are employed to obtain what is considered the greatest possible ‘weight of wood’.
1845 G. Dodd Brit. Manuf. 5th Ser. v. 26 About 112 lbs. weight of biscuits are put into the oven at once.
1854 E. Ronalds & T. Richardson Knapp's Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) I. 236 The quantities of heat contained in equal weights of water and air at the same temperature.
1964 W. G. Smith Allergy & Tissue Metabolism vi. 71 In the perfused cat hind limb it is as active as acetyl~choline on a weight-for-weight basis.
1968 Times 3 Dec. 10/8 Female rats were given daily doses reckoned to be about eight times as powerful on a weight-for-weight basis as those taken by the tribeswomen.
1974 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 19 Jan. 107/2 Special care needs to be taken over the use of Lanoxin brand [of digitalis], which is now twice as potent on a weight-for-weight basis as formerly.
b. elliptical. A pennyweight of gold.
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society > trade and finance > money > value of money > [noun] > specific equivalent weights
talentc893
silver weightc1000
pennyweighta1398
solid1601
weight1890
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > unit or denomination of weight > pennyweight
pennyeOE
denariusa1398
pennyweighta1398
sterling1474
denier1601
Easterling1614
weight1890
1890 Argus (Melbourne) 9 Aug. 4/6 Tried a crushing, and didn't get four weights to the ton.
c. to lose weight: to become thinner or less corpulent; to put on weight: see to put on 6a at put v. Phrasal verbs 1.
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the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > slim [verb (intransitive)]
reduce1798
slenderize1923
slim1930
to lose weight1961
1961 M. Spark Prime of Miss Jean Brodie iv. 114 She had lost weight through her sad passion for Mr. Lloyd.
1970 M. Patten Bedsitter Cookery 89/1 Most sensible people today are anxious to keep a slim figure and a well-planned diet is an essential towards either losing weight or maintaining a good weight.
1982 J. Mann et al. Diabetics' Diet Bk. i. 20 To lose weight you should aim to have only 1,300 calories a day.
9. its, his, etc. weight in or of gold, silver, etc.: a quantity of gold, silver, etc. of the same weight. Chiefly in hyperbolical statements of value.
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the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > worth > [noun] > very great
its, his, etc. weight in or of gold, silver, etc.c1275
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 15391 For nauer neoðer nalde for his æfne wiht of golde. þat þe king hit wusten þat [etc.].
a1300 Floriz & Bl. (Cambr.) 650 Ȝe habbeþ iherd of blauncheflur, Hu ihc hire boȝte..For seuesiþe of gold hire wiȝt.
14.. Guy Warw. 8122 He wold have yove for the fyndyng [of the sword] The weyght of gold and of other thyng.
a1400 Sir Beues 1725 An hors he hadde of gret pris..; For him a ȝaf seluer wiȝt, Er he þat hors haue miȝt.
?a1534 H. Medwall Nature ii. sig. fiii Thou art worth the weyght of gold.
1614 J. Saris Jrnl. in Voy. Japan (1900) 204 Muske, worth the wayht in Siluer.
1634 Noble Souldier ii. i. D 2 I would not drinke that infernall draught..for the weight of the world in Diamonds.
c1650 (a1500) Eger & Grime (Percy) (1933) 290 He is worth to her his waight in gold.
a1687 W. Petty Polit. Anat. Ireland (1691) 68 Gold has been worth but twelve times its own weight in Silver.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 783 Add to the solution twelve times its weight of distilled water.
1854 C. Patmore Betrothal in Angel in House 130 A Tasso worth its weight in gold.
1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain ii. xxvi The dear old nurse..whom George Rivers would have paid with her weight in gold, for taking care of his new daughter.
10. figurative.1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 276 Mi weyhte of love and mi mesure Hath be mor large..Than evere I tok of love ayein.c1571 E. Campion Two Bks. Hist. Ireland (1963) i. xiv. 54 When hee was forsed to sylence with the weight of truthe.1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie sig. T2v, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) If men would but throughly enter into the weight of their estats, & truely consider with themselues what of duety appertayneth to very Reputation.a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. ii. 7 Heerein I see thou lou'st mee not with the full waight that I loue thee. View more context for this quotationin extended use.1637 S. Rutherford Let. in Joshua Redivivus (1671) 128 I know not the weight of the pension the King will give me.
a. The amount that something weighs; the quantity of a portion of matter as measured by the amount of its downward force due to gravitation; the amount of resistance offered by a body to forces tending to raise it. live weight: See live weight n. at live adj.1, n., and adv. Compounds.
ΚΠ
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 1118 Sakkis ful of gold of large weyghte.
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. III. 205 Þanne he took heede þat þe hameres were of dyuers weiȝtes.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) (1495) xvi. v Þouȝe it [sc. gold] be in fire it wasteþ nouȝt, bi smokinge and vapoures noþer leseþ his weiȝt [L. nec etiam in pondere minoratur].
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xviii. 84 Marchands sophisticatez peper, when it is alde..and so by cause of þe weight it semes fresch and new.
c1475 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 286 The pore pepyll..be oppressyd..In yevyng theym to myche weythe into the spynnyng.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. iv. 255 The weight of a haire wil turne the scales between their haber de poiz.
1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love ii. ii. sig. D3 To a Friend in want, he will not depart with the weight of a soldard Groat. View more context for this quotation
1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. iv. 73 The parts are indowed with an equall waight.
1698 J. Floyer Treat. Asthma (1717) 196 The Morning Weight [of the Asthmatic] was 178 Pound.
1715 tr. D. Gregory Elements Astron. I. iii. §52. 491 The weights of homogeneous Bodies placed near one another.
1765 Museum Rusticum 4 74 The weight of this wool encreased from..August 30, 1756, to Feb. 19, 1757, as 100 to 103¼.
1827 M. Faraday Chem. Manip. ii. 25 Small weights cannot be appreciated in instruments intended for great quantities, because of the strength.
1831 D. Brewster Life I. Newton xi. 163 The weight of all bodies is diminished by the centrifugal force, so that the weight of any body is greater at the poles than it is at the equator.
1876 P. G. Tait Lect. Recent Adv. in Physical Sci. (ed. 2) xiv. 352 The weight of a pound of matter varies from place to place on the earth's surface.
b. In phrases stating how much a thing weighs, as of two pounds weight.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > as determined by weighing [phrase] > stating specific weight
of two pounds weight1389
1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 30 Also a knaue chyld..beren a candel yat day, ye wygthe of to pound.
?c1455 J. Fastolf in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 123/1 ij tapers of wax of ij li. wyghte.
1479 in H. E. Malden Cely Papers (1900) 19 And ij salt salers of sylver of the weyth of x unse or xj.
1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Jviij The fleshe therof wayed .xlvij. pound weyght.
1557 R. Record Whetstone of Witte sig. Ri A Cube of Brasse of 4 inches square, doth weighe 7 pounde weighte.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. iv. 25 T'will be heauier soone by the weight of a man. View more context for this quotation
1758 Payne's Universal Chron. 29 July–5 Aug. 141/2 A Turtle of upwards of 500 lb. wt.
c. In figurative phrases. to pull (one's) weight: see pull v. Phrases 10; to throw (chuck, etc.) one's weight about or around: to assert oneself or one's authority, esp. in an objectionable way; to act officiously. colloquial.
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society > authority > [verb (intransitive)] > assert authority officiously
to throw (chuck, etc.) one's weight about or around1917
the mind > emotion > pride > arrogance > be or become arrogant [verb (intransitive)]
cock1542
swagger1600
domineer1607
fluster1698
to throw (chuck, etc.) one's weight about or around1917
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 37 The vastnesse of their Empire, falling with his owne weight.
1794 G. Morris in J. Sparks Life G. Morris (1832) II. 395 We have seen such a system fall by its own weight.
1917 A. G. Empey From Fire Step 31 Don't chuck your weight about until you've been up the line and learnt something.
1921 Brit. Weekly 6 Oct. 2/3 There was a general..belief that people round us were not pulling their weight.
1922 C. E. Montague Disenchantment viii. 104 Some typically stupid English General..was clearly throwing his weight about, as they say, without any real understanding of anything.
1926 S. Jameson Three Kingdoms xii. 348 ‘Come to that,’ he said, ‘Isabel has more right than any of you to fling her weight about.’
1941 J. P. Marquand H. M. Pulham, Esq. i. 10 Bill King..always used to say that Bo-jo was a bastard, a big bastard. Perhaps he meant that Bo-jo sometimes threw his weight around.
1955 E. Hillary High Adventure 163 A big, strong, swanking chap who had thrown his weight about a good deal lower down.
1966 N. Marsh Death at Dolphin (1967) vi. 145 Why hadn't he put his foot down?.. He should have thrown his weight about.
1982 ‘M. Hebden’ Pel & Staghound xv. 176 Madame Rensselaer seemed to enjoy throwing her weight about.
d. Physics. The relative weight of the atom of an element or the molecule of a compound (see atomic weight n., molecular weight n. at molecular adj. Compounds).
ΚΠ
1836–41 W. T. Brande Man. Chem. (ed. 5) 236 A compound of 1 atom of hydrogen and 1 atom of chlorine, their respective weights being 1 and 36.
1922 J. J. Sudborough Bernthsen's Text-bk. Org. Chem. (new ed.) Introd. 9 The weights of equal volumes of different gases are proportional to the weights of equal numbers of their constituent molecules.
1940 G. H. J. Adlam & L. S. Price Higher School Certificate Inorg. Chem. (ed. 2) iv. 19 The relative weights of carbon dioxide and hydrogen molecules.
e. transferred in Mechanics. (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [noun] > active mechanical force > mechanical resistance
weight1810
1810 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 53/1 When two forces act against each other by the intervention of a machine, the one force is called the power, and the other the weight.
1829 Chapters Physical Sci. 77 The Inclined Plane..is always inclined obliquely to the weight, or the resistance to be overcome.
11. in extended use.1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires i. x. 12 Let your sense be clear, Nor with a weight of words fatigue the ear.1746 P. Francis tr. Horace Art of Poetry 260 (note) The Verses..were so heavy with a Weight of Spondees.
a. A heavy mass; usually, something heavy that is lifted or carried; a burden, load. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun] > ponderable matter > that which is heavy or a heavy mass
weightc1374
load1594
plummet?1623
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1886) ii. met. v. 35 Allas what was he þat fyrst dalf vp the gobetes or the weyhtes of gold couered vndyr erthe.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) (1495) v. xxiii A philosophir was preued whi an horrible man is more heuy þanne eny burþon oþir weiȝte [1495 wytte].
c1440 Gesta Romanorum xxxi. 117 Ther he was nye dreynte, for gret weyte of his burdon.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xiii With the weyght therof it pulleth the corne flatte to the erhte.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 53 Not to lyve..as an unprofytabul weyght & burden of the erthe.
1562 Bp. J. Pilkington Expos. Abdyas Pref. sig. A a v The greater weighte that is cast on, the soner it breakes.
1584 R. Greene Gwydonius f. 25 I found it built..so slenderly, as the least waight was able to pash it into innumerable peeces.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger False One v. iv, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ss2v/2 My free mind Like to the Palm-tree walling fruitfull Nyle, Shall grow up straighter and enlarge it selfe 'Spight of the envious weight that loads it with.
1642 in W. H. Black Docquets Lett. Patent at Oxf. (1837) 323 New invencions..to raise ponderous weightes with.
1659 J. Dryden Heroick Stanzas xv His palms, tho under Weights they did not stand, Still thriv'd.
1698 J. Floyer Treat. Asthma iv. 127 All strait Cloaths, and the weight of Blankets hinder the Extention of the Breath.
1764 J. Burton Present State Navigation Thames 39 There will be no Occasion to penn up such a vast Weight of Water pressing on the Weir.
1792 Jrnls. House of Lords 13 Feb. 47 363/2 It is an Absurdity..to load the Extremities with more Weight of Metal than the Midships.
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles v. xx. 201 Strong are mine arms, and little care A weight so slight as thine to bear.
1852 Malpas Builder's Pocket-bk. 57 The whole weight is thrown upon the beam.
1865 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1871) 14 The simplest form of work is the raising of a weight.
b. to take the weight off (one's feet): to sit down and rest. Cf. to take a load off (one's feet) at load n. 3h. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > posture > action of placing or holding body in relaxed posture > place or hold body in relaxed posture [verb (intransitive)] > from standing
to lop down1839
to take the weight off (one's feet)1936
to take a load off (one's feet)1945
1936 ‘J. Tey’ Shilling for Candles ix. 100 Waiters like to take the weight off their feet for a little.
1960 L. Davidson Night of Wenceslas i. 19 We were at the seat now. ‘Like to take the weight off?’ I said.
1965 A. Roudybush Season for Death (1966) xxxii. 190 I stepped into the library..to take the weight off my feet for a minute.
1973 H. Miller Open City xv. 168 Sit down, take the weight off.
12. spec.in combination.1862 M. E. Braddon Aurora Floyd xiii, in Temple Bar May 223 The bay filly, which was to run in a weight-for-age race at the York Spring [meeting].1898 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport II. 196/2 Weight-for-age races are of three varieties.
a. In horse racing or riding: The amount (expressed in stones and pounds) which the jockey or rider is required or expected to weigh, or which the mount can without difficulty carry. catch weights: see catchweight n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [noun] > required or suitable weight of rider
weight1692
1692 London Gaz. No. 2773/4 None but Gentlemen to ride; The weight 12 Stone.
1740 Act 13 Geo. II c. 19 §3 Any Horse..carrying less than the Weights herein before directed to be carried.
1771 P. Parsons Newmarket I. 108 Who ever heard of a rider's throwing away part of his weight, or tearing his pocket that the shot might run out?
1858 Rules of Racing §38 Each jockey shall be allowed 2 lb above the weight specified for his horse to carry and no more.
1883 ‘Rapier’ Types of Turf 74 I remember how eagerly in a certain stable the weights were expected for last year's Cesarewitch.
b. Without article. to carry weight: i.e. such additional weight as equalizes the competitors.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > engage in horse racing [verb (intransitive)] > actions of horse
to carry weight1734
to get up1840
screw1840
to come again1841
to set to1856
to wait off1856
romp1869
to answer the question1875
compound1876
to gallop to a standstill1892
nick1898
to take up1912
rate1920
1734 J. Cheny Hist. List Horse-matches 11 The highest Horse to carry 12 st. and all under his Size to be allow'd Weight for Inches.
1782 W. Cowper Hist. John Gilpin in Public Advertiser 14 Nov. ‘He carries Weight, he rides a Race.’
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. iii. 66 ‘You ride four stone lighter than I.’ ‘Very well; but I am content to carry weight.’
1886 Earl of Suffolk & Berkshire & W. G. Craven in Earl of Suffolk et al. Racing & Steeple-chasing (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 145 Weight for age is the basis of trials with old horses.
1889 R. S. S. Baden-Powell Pigsticking 117 The chief objections to an Arab are..his frequent inability to jump and to carry weight.
1891 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Sydney-side Saxon viii He was a dark brown horse..up to weight, and good across country.
c. Boxing. A match between boxers of a particular weight.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun] > bout or contest > types of
catchweight1723
prizefight1724
defence1855
preliminary1886
rounder1887
title fight1901
title bout1907
eliminator1911
weight1914
slug-fest1916
undercard1926
box-off1967
1914 Varsity 24 Feb. 15/1 An experienced boxer..who won this weight last year at Cambridge.
1914 Varsity 24 Feb. 15/1 Selected to do duty in the two weights.
d. transferred esp. in light weight.
ΚΠ
1872 J. R. Lowell in N. Amer. Rev. July 208 We feel profoundly that the latter [sc. Euripides], though in some respects a better dramatist [than Æschylus], was an infinitely lighter weight.
III. In figurative senses from the above.
13.
a. A burden (of responsibility, obligation, suffering, years, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > [noun] > encumberment > burdensomeness > a burden
burdenc971
chargec1300
packa1325
burnc1375
fardelc1380
weightc1380
carriagea1556
load1600
taxa1628
overpoise1697
dead weight1720
backload1725
millstone1787
tin kettle1796
nightmare-weight1847
ball and chain1855
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. I. 66 Þei [the Jews] shal bere to þe ende of þe worlde the wiȝte of þe olde lawe.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert 90 He held him-self onworþi to þe birden of swech a wyte.
1539 Bible (Great) Num. xi. 11 Seynge that thou puttest ye weyght of all this people vpon me.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David (1823) v. iv With heaped weights of their own sinns oppresse These most ungratefull rebells unto thee.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. i. 36 But were we burdned with like waight of paine, As much, or more, we should our selues complaine. View more context for this quotation
1632 R. Sanderson 12 Serm. 303 You that groane vnder the waight of Gods displeasure.
1661 F. Howgill in Extracts State Papers (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1911) 2nd Ser. 129 The Imprisonment of Freinds lyes as a weight vppon the Nation.
1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe i. 2 The weight of seventy Winters prest him down.
1718 M. Prior Power 694 Permit me strength, my weight of woe to bear.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 287 For my Part, I had a Weight taken off from my Heart.
1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) cxlvii. vii Ye, who bow with Age's Weight.
1811 Ld. Byron To Thyrza 43 Oft have I borne the weight of ill, But never bent beneath till now!
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. vi. 114 The child, overpowered by the weight of her sorrows and anxieties..burst into a passion of tears.
1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect Long Life I. 397 He was an aged man..and seemed enfeebled by the weight of years.
b. Burden (of proof), onus.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > [noun] > burden of proof
burden of proof1593
onus probandi1722
weight1824
onus of proof1827
1824 J. Marshall Writings upon Federal Constit. (1839) 312 The whole weight of proof..is thrown upon him who would introduce a distinction.
14. † c. to give a weight to: to add force or vigour to.
a. The force of an onslaught or encounter in the field; pressure exerted by numbers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [noun] > greater number, majority > pressure exerted by
weightc1500
swamping1802
c1500 Melusine (1895) xix. 106 Wel ye wote that two knyghtes may not susteyne & bere the weight ayenst wel Lxxx. or houndred thousand paynemys.
1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. i. 120 And so undertaking the maine weight of the battell, [he] perished under it.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis ix, in tr. Virgil Wks. 496 They bear him back, and whom by Might They cannot Conquer, they oppress with Weight.
1736 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. IX. 199 No longer able to support the weight of the enemy, they chose to retire.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth xi, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 289 The tumult..forced asunder, by the weight and press of numbers, the Prince and Douglas.
b. to feel the weight of: to suffer from (by receiving a heavy blow or undergoing severe pressure). Frequently figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > suffer (adversity or affliction) [verb (transitive)]
thave835
i-dreeeOE
tholec897
abeareOE
underbearc950
adreeOE
dreeOE
driveOE
i-tholeOE
throwOE
underfoc1000
bearOE
bidec1200
suffera1250
abidec1275
drinka1340
endure1340
underfong1382
receivec1384
abyea1393
sustain1398
finda1400
undergoa1400
get?c1430
underganga1470
ponder?a1525
a dog's lifea1528
tolerate1531
to stand to ——1540
to feel the weight of?1553
enjoy1577
carry1583
abrook1594
to stand under ——a1616
to fall a victim to1764
the mind > emotion > suffering > suffer mental pain [verb (transitive)]
thave835
i-dreeeOE
tholec897
underbearc950
adreeOE
dreeOE
driveOE
i-tholeOE
throwOE
underfoc1000
bearOE
takec1175
bidec1200
suffera1250
leadc1330
drinka1340
endure1340
wielda1375
underfong1382
receivec1384
sustain1398
finda1400
undergoa1400
underganga1470
ponder?a1525
tolerate1531
to go through ——1535
to feel the weight of?1553
enjoy1577
carry1583
abrook1594
?1553 Respublica (1952) i. iii. 10 He that ones wincheth shall fele the waite of my fiste.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 98 He had felt the waight of her Majesties power.
1681 J. Flavell Method of Grace xvii. 317 His enemies felt the weight of his prayers, and the Church of God reaped the benefits thereof.
1701 F. Atterbury Serm. House of Commons 22 They who lately felt the weight of the English Arms.
1702 D. Defoe New Test Ch. Eng. Honesty in Writ. (1705) II. 306 The Church, who by this time began to feel the Weight of the King's Hand, had been Dispossess'd of Magdalen College in Oxford.
1880 L. Parr Adam & Eve II. 21 I've a made that great lutterputch feel the weight o' me hand.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (transitive)] > increase the intensity of
multiplya1398
sharpenc1450
heighten1523
height1528
strengthen1546
aggravate1549
enhance1559
intend1603
enrich1620
re-enforce1625
wheel1632
reinforce1660
support1691
richen1795
to give a weight to1796
intensify1817
exalt1850
intensate1856
to step up1920
to hot up1937
ramp1981
1796 F. Burney Camilla III. vi. iv. 202 To see her thus completely disconcerted, gave a weight to the mischievous malice of Mrs. Arlbery.
d. Mining. (See quot. 1892.)
ΚΠ
1892 Labour Commission Gloss. Weight. A weight is the gradual or sudden lowering of the roof of a mine after the coal has been worked on the long-wall system.
15.
a.
(a) Importance, moment, claim to consideration.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun]
mund?c1250
steemc1330
greatnessc1410
substancec1425
importance1485
weight1521
moment1522
weightiness1530
importancy1531
importunance1546
import1548
reckoning1582
sequel1588
ponderosity1589
valure1594
consequence1597
significance1597
circumstance1599
consequent1599
eminency1622
importmenta1625
concernment1626
consideration1634
telling1636
signification1645
considerableness1647
concerningness1657
nearness1679
significancy1679
respectability1769
interest1809
noteworthiness1852
portee1893
valency1897
1521 T. Wolsey in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. I. 179 A smale conceylement..of no regarde, weight, or importance.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. lxxixv In matters of weight & difficultie.
1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. P4v What obedience than is due to them in matters of small waight, of small importaunce.
1606 True Relation Proc. against Garnet sig. O3 Such new matter, as shall be worth the hearing, as being indeed of waight and moment.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 50 So should we in our journeyes, travailes, attempts of weight,..beseech him that his good hand might appeare.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 410 Pond'ring future Things of wond'rous Weight.
1729 W. Law Serious Call xv. 274 It is certain that all such bodily actions as affect the soul, are of great weight in Religion.
a1770 J. Jortin Serm. (1771) II. xix. 377 This is an argument of weight.
1783 E. Burke Speech Fox's E. India Bill in Wks. (1792) II. 417 The objection is of weight.
1851 A. Helps Compan. Solitude xi. 214 The night-mares of care and trouble cease to weigh as if they were the only things of weight in the world.
(b) Esp. in of weight, of great (little, etc.) weight.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective]
important1444
substantious1483
sore1530
relevantc1540
importing1579
of great (little, etc.) weight1581
grave1594
dear1598
consequentious1634
concerning1641
of concern1651
consequent1659
weighty1662
interesting1711
capital1724
consequential1728
magnitudinous1777
makulu1899
operative1955
1581 N. Burne Disput. Headdis of Relig. To King a v As the importance and vecht of the mater requyris.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxv. 158 Ceremonies haue more in waight then in sight.
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. iv. vii. §2. 299 Considering better..the weight of the businesse, which he had taken in hand.
1662 J. Howell New Eng. Gram. 16 In French she [the letter Y] is of that weight that she makes somtimes a whole word of her self.
1709 J. Swift Let. conc. Sacramental Test 11 But there is no great weight in this.
a1738 I. Watts Improvem. Mind ii. iv, in Coll. Wks. (1753) V. 334 The weight and force of argument which should influence the mind.
1830 A. Cunningham Lives Brit. Painters (ed. 2) I. 223 Yet weight must be allowed to the opinion of Northcote.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iv. 513 Weight of moral character was indeed wanting to Edward Seymour.
1861 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. (1869) III. v. 324 Having no wealth to give him weight.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. I. viii. 106 The two elections of General Grant..are the best evidence of the weight of this consideration.
b. spec. The relative value of an observation. More widely, a multiplying factor associated with each of a series of numerical quantities, esp. ones that are added together.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] > multiplication > multiplier or multiplicand
multipliantc1450
multiplicator1543
multiplier1543
multiplicand1594
factor1658
multiplied1660
coefficient1708
geniture1718
multiplicative1727
factor1779
weight1825
conversion factor1918
scale factor1948
co-factor-
1825 Philos. Mag. 65 167 The arithmetical mean of a set of observations..is the particular case when the weights a, a′, a″ etc. are all equal, and the sum of the errors is equal to zero.
1838 A. De Morgan Ess. Probabilities 138 The method of finding an average is this: multiply every observation by its weight and divide the sum of the products by the sum of the weights.
1868 J. C. Watson Theoret. Astron. vii. 372 The relative accuracy of two or more observed values of a quantity may be expressed by means of what are called their weights.
1935 L. Pauling & E. B. Wilson Introd. Quantum Mech. iv. 100 The degree of degeneracy (the number of independent wave functions associated with a given energy level) is often called the quantum weight of the level.
1940 G. Crowther Outl. Money iii. 93 For some sorts of index numbers, weighting is essential... Weights that are correct at one time may be incorrect at other times.
1949 Economist 8 Oct. 775/1 If the estimate of the change in productivity had been based on calculations using post-war weights they would have indicated a larger increase in productivity in the United States.
1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing ii. 32 The number 491 means 4 × 100 + 9 × 10 + 1. The weights are 100, 10, and 1, respectively.
1983 Personal Computer World Dec. 142/2 When each digit is multiplied by its weight the sum of the products, including the check digit, whose weight is 1, is exactly divisible by 11 in a valid [Standard Book] number.
16. Persuasive or convincing power (of utterances, arguments, evidence); impressiveness (of matter or speech).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > proof, demonstration > [noun] > strength of
weighta1533
pregnancy1622
stress1653
stringency1864
a1533 Ld. Berners in tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1537) Prol. sig. Aiv It suffiseth to gyue for the weyght the sentence.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes Erasm. Pref. **iiijv A famous speaker..geueth to the saiynges moche weight and grace also.
1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. B4v A matter of grauity deliuered with weight..a matter of follie intermingled with laughter, doe eche shew the decorum therein.
1630 W. Prynne Anti-Arminianisme 113 A Sentence of sufficient antiquity and weight to put a period to this Controuersie.
1716 J. Addison Freeholder No. 19. ⁋3 Having nothing of any manner of weight to offer against the principles of their antagonists.
1783 H. Blair Lect. Rhetoric I. xviii. 365 Nothing derogates more from the weight and dignity of any composition, than too great attention to ornament.
1827 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) IV. 158 But this detracts not from the weight of your reasoning.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 172 No man spoke with more weight and dignity in council and in parliament.
1867 A. D. Whitney Summer in Leslie Goldthwaite's Life ii. 16 The ‘O father!’ was not without its weight.
17. Weightiest or heaviest part; greatest stress or severity; preponderance, superior amount (of evidence, authority) on one side or the other of a question.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > predominance or preponderance > [noun]
predominy?a1475
weight1569
predomination1592
predominance1595
predominancy1598
ascendant1607
predominion1607
prepotency1623
overweight1626
overbearance1639
preponderation1650
prepollency1663
preponderancy1689
the transcendent1691
overpoise1697
preponderance1704
prepollence1730
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 621 .xv.thousand men, in whom consisted the waight and peyse of the whole enterprise.
1665 R. Brathwait Comment Two Tales Chaucer 199 Weight of Judgment has ever given Invention Priority before Language.
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 8 The Parish of St. Giles's, where still the Weight of the Infection lay.
1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. x. 168 The weight of evidence is in favour of the latter hypothesis.
1883 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench Div. 11 591 An order..for a new trial, on the ground..that the verdict was against the weight of evidence.
18. In various phrases:† b. to hold weight with: to vie in greatness with. Obsolete.† d. upon the weight of: on the strength of, by relying on the value of. Obsolete.
a. to lay weight upon: †to urge (a person) to do something (obsolete); to attach importance or value to.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > attach importance to
weigh?c1225
chargec1320
set by1393
to attribute (much)1586
to stand upon ——1587
moment1598
to lay weight upon1600
reflecta1616
to take (large etc.) stock in (rarely of)1870
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > attach importance to > render outstanding
aggravate1549
accent1595
to lay weight upon1600
emphase1631
circumflect1643
to lay (also place, put) stress on (also upon)1653
to set home1656
forestall1657
circumflex1661
signalize1698
to lay stress, weight, emphasis on or upon1748
emphasize1793
accentuate1817
stress1845
to rub in1851
to draw out1855
underline1880
punctuate1883
peak1887
underscore1891
to point up1926
the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > incite or instigate > urge, press, or impel
pullc1300
firk1340
enforce138.
pressa1393
thrust14..
impel1490
urge1576
to put (a person) to it1581
importune1598
to lay weight upon1600
riot1777
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > relative
to lay weight upon1709
eminency1841
(a)
(b)1709 J. Swift Let. conc. Sacramental Test 17 We are apt to lay some weight upon their Opinion.1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. iv. 55 We lay no weight whatever upon the pretended information thus conveyed.1863 B. Taylor Quaker Widow xvi And it was brought upon my mind..That we on dress and outward things perhaps lay too much weight.1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xlix. 1238 The woman laid great wait upon me to depart out of those quarters.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > make equal [verb (transitive)] > equal, match, or rival
matchc1400
to hold, rarely have, tack with (to)1412
equalize15..
mate1509
touch1530
to hold (a person, etc.) tack (to tack)1555
equal1590
egall1591
countermatch1600
to weigh with (also even with)1600
emulate1602
side1605
compeer1608
pair1619
mount1628
amate1642
to hold weight witha1643
to be (also prove oneself) a match for1712
peel1726
to hold the sticks toa1817
to bear or stand comparison with1845
see1861
tie1888
a1643 J. Shute Sarah & Hagar (1649) 148 For there are but few deliverances temporall, that hold weight with the delivery from the paines of child-birth.
c. to have weight: to make an impression on, weigh with (those who judge a matter); to receive favourable consideration; to be recognized as valid or important. Similarly to carry weight.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (intransitive)] > influence
weighc1386
to have weight1565
society > authority > power > influence > have influence [verb (intransitive)]
weighc1386
to have, bear, carry, strike a (great, etc.) stroke1531
to hold placea1535
to take place1535
to bear (a or the) sway1549
to have weight1565
say1614
to be no small drinka1774
matter1848
to pack a punch (also wallop)a1938
1565 J. Jewel Replie Hardinges Answeare iv. xviii. 256 He also sawe, the reasons he hath brought, are very simple, and carrie no weight.
1638 K. Digby in G. Digby & K. Digby Lett. conc. Relig. (1651) 10 I conceive they are to have no more weight with those that have ability to examine them, then [etc.].
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions 13 The Navy Officers, with whom it carries so much weight.
1707 J. Freind Acct. Earl of Peterborow's Conduct in Spain 108 The latter opinion had its weight, and prevail'd.
1747 S. Richardson Clarissa I. xxxii. 211 If..such narrow motives have so little weight with me.
1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. lix. 270 The conditions, which constitute this right, must be taken together. Separately, they have little weight.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) I. 368 If the tenant..were likely to be prejudiced by not being named, this objection would have weight.
1858 N. Hawthorne Fr. & Ital. Jrnls. (1872) I. 31 The visé of a minister carries more weight.
2002 Wall St. Jrnl. 29 Mar. c16/1 The seal of approval from an international auditor such as Arthur Andersen carries considerable weight.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > [adverb]
with reasonc1300
skilfullyc1325
skillwiselya1340
skilfula1400
reasonablyc1400
of reason1405
in reasona1450
upon reasonc1450
reasonfully1532
justlya1538
rationablya1540
reasonally1567
reasonable1573
as soon (as)1579
rationally1610
to reason1613
rational1662
correctlya1704
rightly1703
upon the weight of1710
legitimately1794
well-foundedly?1841
tarblish1842
sanely1884
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 4. Introd. I shall not pretend to raise a Credit to this Work, upon the Weight of my politic News only.
e. to give (full, due) weight to: to allow (a plea, argument, circumstance) its proper force; to weigh equitably; to treat as valid or important.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > regard as important
to lay prize, store upona1307
counta1400
regard1509
esteema1568
to put (also place, etc.) on a pedestal1811
to give (full, due) weight to1885
1885 Manch. Examiner 26 June 5/3 His Holiness has given due weight to the many conflicting aspects of the case.
1885 Manch. Examiner 10 July 5/1 It is proper to give full weight to the exculpatory evidence adduced.
19. Influence or authority (of a person) due to character or ability, position, office, wealth, or the like. Frequently in phrases of weight, of (great, etc.) weight; also to throw, put, one's weight behind something, and variants.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > influence or authority
gravity1534
weight1710
society > authority > power > influence > [noun]
powerc1300
authorityc1405
voice1433
swaya1510
gravity1534
force1582
bias1587
interest1600
prevalence1612
prevailance1631
pondus1638
prevailancya1649
prevailency1650
influence1652
prevalency1652
weight1710
prevailingness1757
holding1770
mojo1923
clout1958
muscle1965
society > authority > power > influence > of influence [phrase]
of weight1710
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 4. ⁋7 Those Persons at the Helm are so useful, and in themselves of such Weight.
1747 Frauds & Abuses Coal-Dealers (ed. 3) 5 In all popular Assemblies, it has been found necessary to place some Man of Weight and Dignity in the Chair.
1779 J. Moore View Society & Manners France (1789) I. iv. 25 Their opinions have considerable weight on the manners and opinions of people of rank.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xiii. 253 It could hardly be doubted that they were directed by some leader of great weight.
1885 Manch. Examiner 6 Nov. 5/3 Political economists of weight refused to join the Commission.
1938 ‘G. Orwell’ Homage to Catalonia v. 65 The Communist Party, with Soviet Russia behind it, had thrown its whole weight against revolution.
1951 C. P. Snow Masters xxxiii. 268 I can't do as much as I should like, but I shall throw in my weight wherever I can.
1976 Southern Evening Echo (Southampton) 11 Nov. 1/1 The floodgates opened on the fluoridation of water supplies..when the..Regional Health Authority put their weight behind the scheme.
IV. A standard of quantity determined by, or employed in, weighing.
20. † a. A standard of weight. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > a system or standard of weighing
weighta1000
poise1542
a1000 Laws Edgar iii. viii, in Liebermann 204 Gange an gemet and an gewihte swylce man on Lundenbyrig and on Wintanceastre healde.
a1200 Moral Ode 212 in Old Eng. Hom. I. 173 Godes wisdom is wel muchel..& nis his milce naut lesse, ac bi þan ilke iwichte.
c1200 Moral Ode 384 (Trin. MS.) in Old Eng. Hom. II. 231 Þar ne sullen [hi] habben god alle bi one wihte.
a1400 Eng. Gilds 356 Þare þe kynges wyȝte by-lyþ.
a1400 Eng. Gilds 356 Þe kinges by whas wyȝte hit be y-weye.
1429 Rolls of Parl. IV. 349/1 It was ordeinid..yat on weiȝte and on mesure be bi al ye Reme, as wel with oute ye Estaple as with ynne.
b. With addition of a distinguishing word, as in troy weight, avoirdupois weight: Any of the various systems (consisting of a series of units in fixed arithmetical relation to each other) used for stating the weight of a quantity of matter.
ΚΠ
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. lxxiij/1 Ther beth iij. maner weyghtis that is to wete, troy weyght, Auncell weyghtis And lyggynge weyght.
1540 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 222 Euery person..shuld sell the same by liefull weight called Haberdepoys.
1545 Rates Custome House sig. dv Fyrst of the wayght of Troye..By thys wayght is bought and solde golde..and iewels.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia at Weights There are two sorts..in use with us; the one called Troy weight..the other Avoir-du-pois.
1713 G. Berkeley in Guardian 21 Apr. 2/2 Ten Pound Averdupoise Weight of this Philosophical Snuff.
1724 J. Swift Drapier (1730) i. 15 Twenty Shillings will weigh Six Pounds Butter Weight.
1891 Labour Commission Gloss. Short, statute or imperial weight.—2,240 lbs. to the ton..Long weight.—2,400 lbs. to the ton.
21. † c. Used in various localities as a name for the customary unit for weighing particular commodities (e.g. wool, hemp, cheese, potatoes); the quantity denoted differs greatly in different places (see quots.). Cf. wey n.1, and measure n. 7a. Obsolete.
a. A unit or denomination of ponderable quantity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > unit or denomination of weight
weightc1175
M1548
carat1568
killat1580
muttie1672
minim1790
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7812 All þatt mann shollde biggen ut. Wiþþ fife wehhte [= shekels] off sillferr.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 28437 Again þe lagh..haf i wysed fals weght and mette.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (MS Add. 27944) (1495) vi. xvii Mna is a certeyn wiȝte and valewe.
1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. ii A weight of three graines, Kirat.
1857 J. H. Walsh Man. Domest. Econ. 620 The last mentioned goods may be sold either by the heaped measure, or by the standard weight.
1863 M. E. Braddon Aurora Floyd III. vi. 111 She knew—to the smallest weight employed at Apothecaries' Hall..how much sugar Mr. Bulstrode liked in his tea.
b. In plural and coupled with measures.
ΚΠ
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. II. 227 Caym..tornede symple lyuynge [of] men to fyndynge of mesures and of wyȝtes [L. ponderum et mensurarum].
1596 (title) The pathway to knowledge. Conteyning certaine brief tables of English waights, and measures.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia at Weights One Phidon an Argive is said to have bin the first finder out of Weights and Measures.
a1771 T. Gray Agrippina in Poems (1775) 129 The power To judge of weights, and measures.
1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 1 199 The operations relative to a general uniformity of weights and measures.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 393 The Weights and Measures Act (5th Geo. IV., c. 74).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > unit or denomination of weight > varying customary or standard unit
wey805
last1341
weight1490
1490 in F. W. Weaver Somerset Medieval Wills (1901) 291 I have xviii weyghts of wulle besydes the bequestes aforeseyd.
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. Civ The weyght of essex chese is..CCC. weyght, fyue score xij. li. for the C. The weyght of suffolke chese is xij. score and xvi. li.
1592 in Rec. Convent. Burghs Scot. (1870) I. 381 Ane neif full of ewirrie wecht of voll.
1656 H. Phillippes Purchasers Pattern (ed. 3) 193 There are some other denominations of these weights in several places, as..Rooves, Weights, Loads.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 98 The Inhabitants make Five thousand Weight of Silk yearly, with the Money whereof they pay their Tribute.
1759 Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. XIX. 190 He has got 150 weaght of bread befoer hand.
1799 Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. XIII. 42 Six thousand weight of bread is yet to be baked.
1814 Edinb. Encycl. (1830) VII. 221/2 [In Cork] Potatoes, when retailed in market, are sold by a measure called a weight, generally containing 21 lb.
1846 Knickerbocker Mag. 27 276 I took out thirty weight of honey.
1856 J. C. Morton Cycl. Agric. (new ed.) II. (Gloss.) 1127/3 Wey,..(Dorsets.), of wool, a weigh or weight is 30 lbs., and ½ lb. or 1 lb. over in some places. Weight (Dorsets.), of hemp, 8 heads of 4 lbs., twisted and tied, making 32 lbs. (Somers.), of hemp, 30 lbs.
1881 A. Rimmer Old Country Towns 278 A ‘weight’ for some unexplained cause, was the Boston method of expressing 256 pounds.
d. A measure of an illegal drug; hence, the drug. Also without article. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a quantity of
piece1935
twister1936
stash1942
trey1967
weight1971
eight ball1987
1971 Frendz 21 May 11/2 Avoid carrying weight late at night.
1972 Listener 23 Mar. 359/3 Your hash dealer is usually a friendly happy freak who's managed..to buy himself a weight and he deals it out to his friends.
1978 S. Wilson Dealer's Move i. 13 Neil was taking colossal risks, there'd be up to thirty weights sitting in the flat at one time.
22.
a. A piece of metal or other substance, weighing a known amount and identical with one of the units or with a multiple or aliquot part of a unit in some recognized scale.In early instances false weights is ambiguous, as it may be referred either to this sense or to 24 (pair of scales); probably the writers did not always distinguish, the virtual sense being ‘fraudulent weighing’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > equipment for weighing > [noun] > a weight
weighc1000
weight1340
peisea1382
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 44 Huanne me heþ diuerse wyȝtes..and beggeþ be þe gratteste wyȝtes..and zelleþ by þe leste.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxx. 1384 Somtyme massy þinges and heuy by þe whiche þe heuynesse is assayed is ycleped a weighte.
1420 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 46 I ȝeve to þe sam William a beme þat I weye þer-wyth, and ij leuys, also iijc of ledyn wyȝtis.
c1430 Contin. Brut 448 In þat tyme þe gold of þe realme went by weght; And euery man had a payr ballaunce And weghttes in hys sleve for þe gold.
1467 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 383 That all other wightes wtyn the cite..be ensealed accordynge to the kynges standart.
1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iii. iv, 107 A man holding in his ryght hand a balance And the weyght in the lifte hand.
1540 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 222 Sufficient beames scales and weightes sealid..for true seruing of the byers.
1582 Rates Custome House (new ed.) sig. Avj v Brasse weights called pile weights the c, l, s.
1656 tr. J. A. Comenius Latinæ Linguæ Janua Reserata: Gate Lat. Tongue Unlocked liv. §536 The lightest little waight, giving motion to the ballance, they call a Grain.
1784 J. Twamley Dairying Exemplified 59 Press it with a four pound weight, or..with a lighter weight.
1892 Photogr. Ann. II. p. cxvii Scales and Weights.
b. Athletics. A heavy lump of stone, or ball of metal, which is thrown from one hand placed close to the shoulder. Commonly in the Scottish phrase putting the weight (see put v. 4, putting n.1 2). Also elliptical as the name of this sport.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > athletics > [noun] > specific athletic sports other than running > throwing weight, shot, or ball > weight, shot, or discus
stonec1300
dishc1384
discus1581
disc1665
putting stone1716
weight1865
shot1881
1865 Field 21 Jan. 34/1 Throwing the hammer, putting the weight.
23. figurative.1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 189 By Gods wonderfull prouidence, that..hangeth great Weights vpon small Wyres.1639 J. Clarke Paroemiologia 109 Great weights hang on small wyers.1641 J. Gauden Love of Truth 22 Love is the weight and motor of the soule.† b. to go on weights (see quot. 1598). Obsolete.
a. A block or lump of metal or other heavy substance, or a heavy object, used to pull or press down something, to give an impulse to machinery (e.g. in a clock), to act as a counterpoise, or the like. Cf. letterweight n. at letter n.1 Compounds 2, paperweight n., sash weight n. at sash n.2 Compounds 2, jack weight n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun] > ponderable matter > that which is heavy or a heavy mass > used on account of its weight
weightc1425
pound1450
poise1531
plummet1612
pondus1719
weighting1875
c1425 Macro Plays, Cast. Persev. 1943 Þis worthy, wylde werld, I wagge with a wyt [= wyȝt].
1515 in Archaeologia Cantiana (1918) 33 17 Payed for mendyng off the waithe off the clock ij d.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Kings xxi. 13 Ouer Ierusalem wyll I stretch forth the lyne of Samaria, and the weighte of the house of Achab.
1606 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 175 Payed for the jacke, the cordes and pullies, xxvs; the weight and cheans, vs.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 66 The dores likewise by waights are made to shut of themselves at the heeles of him that comes in.
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 266 A delicate Clock with weights to it.
1774 M. Mackenzie Treat. Maritim Surv. 48 Let the Weight at the End of the Line be pretty heavy.
1774 Pennsylvania Gaz. 9 Feb. (Suppl.) 2/3 Sash pullies, weights and lines.
1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 299 A weight being attached to the hook b, the spring..is drawn downwards.
1838 N. Hawthorne Amer. Note-bks. (1868) I. 216 There was a clock without a case, the weights being visible.
ΚΠ
1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. 50/4 The small, thinne, and Hern-fashoned hippes and legges, wherof we commonlye say ‘they goe one Wayghtes’.
V. A means of weighing.† 24. plural, less commonly singular. (A pair of) scales, a balance. Also in figurative context. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > equipment for weighing > [noun] > a weighing apparatus > a balance
weigha1050
weightsa1300
balancea1375
weigh-shale1465
scales1480
weigh-beam1492
launce1590
scale instrumenta1691
scale balance1809
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > equipment for weighing > [noun] > a weighing apparatus > a balance > scales
weighc825
weightsa1300
balance1388
weigh-scalea1400
weighing-scalesc1450
scales1480
weigh-balk1824
a1300 E.E. Psalter lxi. 10 Liyhers sones of men are ai In weghtes [L. in stateris].
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 332 If that I mihte finde a sleyhte, To leie al myn astat in weyhte.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxx. 1384 In þis wise..þe þing in þe whiche a þing is yweye is ycleped a wight.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1734 Þy wale rengne is walt in weȝtes to heng, & is funde ful fewe of hit fayth dedes.
1437 Rolls of Parl. IV. 508/2 Where ye Kings Weightes and his Beem ben sette.
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 41/1 The worlde woulde put her and her kinred in the wyght, and say that thei had..broken the amitie and peace.
1555 R. Eden tr. G. F. de Oviedo y Valdés Summarie Gen. Hist. W. Indies in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 188 One of these byrdes with her nest put in a paire of gold weights..hath waid no more then .ii. Tomini.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. ii. sig. O The false he layd In th'other scale; but still it downe did slide, And by no meane could in the weight be stayd. View more context for this quotation
a1620 M. Fotherby Atheomastix (1622) ii. i. §3. 174 That..weigheth the mountaines in a waite.
1629 Z. Boyd Last Battell Soule (new ed.) iv. 499 Dauid in his time put them in the weights together [Ps. lxii. 9].
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
weight balk n.
ΚΠ
1575 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories Archdeaconry Richmond (1853) 255 j olde weight balke with skayles, ij d.
weight beam n.
ΚΠ
1462 Maldon (Essex) Court Rolls (Bundle 37, No. 4b) A weght beme de ferro, precii iiii s.
weight-charge n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > [noun] > because of weight
weight-charge1898
1898 Daily News 7 Dec. 2/7 The weight-charge on packets above 1lb. in weight.
weight-equivalent n.
ΚΠ
1897 Singer & Berens Some Unrecognized Laws Nat. 107 The volume-equivalent would be too great and the weight-equivalent too small.
weight-gain n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun] > gain in weight
weight-gain1956
1956 Nature 3 Mar. 423/2 (caption) Average weight-gains of animals fed on lime-treated maize.
1981–2 Deer Farmer (N.Z.) Summer 3/1 (Wapiti) Crosses with reds; the hybrids also produce good velvet and weight-gains.
weight limit n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun] > limit on permitted weight
weight limit1961
1961 Engineering 21 July 72/1 The new 1½ litre ‘weight limit’ formula came into effect..in May.
weight scale n.
ΚΠ
1849 H. M. Noad Lect. Electr. (ed. 3) 357 A similar bow was formed on the back of the armature, to which the weight scale was attached.
weight sense n.
ΚΠ
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VI. 709 The weight sense was lost in the hands as well as in the feet.
weight stone n.
ΚΠ
1469 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 21 I have a counterpais wheith of the wheight stone that the wooll was weyed with.
weight thermometer n.
ΚΠ
1849 R. V. Dixon Treat. Heat i. 52 One an air thermometer,..the other a mercurial weight thermometer.
b.
weight-conscious adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > [adjective] > making
weight-reducing1922
slimming1925
slenderizing1927
weight-watching1970
weight-conscious1974
1974 Radio Times 28 Feb. 280/2 A nervously weight-conscious society.
C2. † weight-wiser n. Obsolete
weight-bearing n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > action or fact of supporting > bearing weight
bearability1926
weight-bearing1954
1954 L. C. Martin & M. Hynes Clin. Endocrinol. (ed. 2) ii. 50 Osteoarthritis of the hips, knees and spine develops from undue strains of excessive weight-bearing as life advances.
1977 P. A. Ring in Bone & Joint Dis. (Brit. Med. Assoc.) 83 It may be better to strive for union in the relatively young patient, even at the risk of a period of protected weight~bearing.
weight-bearing adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [adjective] > supporting > bearing weight
bearable1837
weight-bearing1959
1959 Manch. Guardian 9 July 5/7 We cannot even tell whether the heavy walls of the new buildings are the weight-bearing structures they look to be.
weight-carrier n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by purpose used for > [noun] > for riding > that carries two people or heavy person
weight-carrier1862
1862 G. A. Lawrence Barren Honour II. xix. 90 Red Lancer is a very model of a fast weight-carrier.
1893 F. F. Moore I forbid Banns (1899) 31 It has the build of a weight-carrier, that chair.
weight-carrying n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > domestic animal > [adjective] > labouring > that bears a burden
bearingOE
sumptery1546
veterine1656
burden-bearing1793
weight-carrying1883
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [adjective] > types of handicap
weight-carrying1883
1883 M. E. Kennard Right Sort xix Mounted on a huge weight-carrying hunter.
1897 Daily News 14 May 3/2 Our baggage animals—to the limit of their weight-carrying capacity.
weight-lifter n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > athletics > [noun] > weight-lifting > weight-lifter
weight-lifter1897
powerlifter1966
1884 National Police Gaz. (U.S.) 12 Jan. 13/2 Alonzo Hiwanda, the..champion heavy-weight lifter.]
1897 National Police Gaz. (U.S.) 26 May 3/4 Bothwell, of Glasgow, is well known as a powerful man, besides a weight lifter.
1955 R. Bannister First Four Minutes 112 The waddling gait and breathlessness of a muscle-bound weight-lifter.
1980 Sunday Times 14 Sept. (Colour Suppl.) 99/2 A weightlifter complained that he did not like showing his tattoos in public.
weight-lifting n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > athletics > [noun] > weight-lifting
weight-lifting1896
powerlifting1959
1896 Daily News 6 Apr. 5/7 The London Weight-lifting Club.
1902 Daily Chron. 28 Apr. 5/3 A series of weight-lifting competitions.
weight-maker n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > equipment for weighing > [noun] > a weight > who makes weights
weight-maker1648
1648 in W. M. Williams Ann. Worshipful Company Founders (1867) 103 No Wayght Maker that doth cast Brass Wayghtes and..put them to sale.
weight-puller n.
ΚΠ
1868 H. Woodruff & C. J. Foster Trotting Horse Amer. xxiii. 200 The weight-pullers..are of medium weight.
weight-putting n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > athletics > [noun] > specific athletic sports other than running > throwing weight, shot, or ball
putc1300
puttingc1300
shot put1887
shot-putting1894
weight-putting1900
weight throwing1901
softball throw1930
1900 A. E. T. Watson Young Sportsman 84 Weight putting—The weight should weigh 16 lbs., and in England must be of iron.
1948 Sporting Mirror 21 May 14/3 Giles had never done any weight putting when he went to Germany with the army.
weight-raising n.
ΚΠ
1850 E. B. Denison Rudimentary Treat. Clock & Watch Making iii. clxxviii. 245 The going part is also reduced..to a mere weight-raising machine.
weight-reducing adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > [adjective] > making
weight-reducing1922
slimming1925
slenderizing1927
weight-watching1970
weight-conscious1974
1922 Times 7 Oct. 13/5 Grilling is the great essential of the weight-reducing diet.
1978 N. Marsh Grave Mistake ii. 42 She tried..to get Verity to fix a day when she would come to a weight-reducing luncheon.
weight-reducing n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > [noun] > making
thinningc1000
lensingc1175
slenderizing1932
weight-reducing1958
1958 F. C. Avis Boxing Ref. Dict. Weight reducing, taking off superfluous weight, often by means of vapour baths, sweating exercises, etc.
weight-resisting n.
ΚΠ
1708 J. Philips Cyder i. 265 Hazel, and weight-resisting Palm.
weight-thrower n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > athletics > [noun] > specific athletic sports other than running > throwing weight, shot, or ball > thrower
putter1574
discobolus1638
shot-putter1882
weight-thrower1895
hammer-thrower1899
1895 Outing 26 461/2 Any one of her five weight throwers could beat the best man at Cambridge.
weight throwing n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > athletics > [noun] > specific athletic sports other than running > throwing weight, shot, or ball
putc1300
puttingc1300
shot put1887
shot-putting1894
weight-putting1900
weight throwing1901
softball throw1930
1901 J. P. Paret Woman's Bk. Sports 163 Weight-throwing has four or five variations.
1960 Times 29 Apr. 16/6 The investigation covered swimming, track running, weight-throwing.
ΚΠ
1686 Philos. Trans. 1685 (Royal Soc.) 15 1003 We find, by several sorts of Baroscopes (or weight-wisers) not only that [etc.].
C3. † weight-house n. Obsolete a weigh-house.
weight belt n. a belt to which weights are attached, designed to help divers and underwater swimmers stay submerged.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > movement in or on water > [noun] > underwater swimming > equipment
armour1721
lifeline1808
shot line1884
plumper line1896
shot rope1909
aqualung1950
scuba1952
snorkel1953
weight belt1955
umbilical pipe1968
1943 Diving Man. (U.S. Navy Dept.) x. 150 Next, the weighted belt is fastened on.]
1955 R. Carrier & B. Carrier Dive iv. 111 Weight belts should also provide for interchangeable weights to regulate buoyancy as needed.
1966 ‘L. Holton’ Out of Depths (1967) xii. 115 ‘Here. I'll show you a diver's gear.’.. He held up a weight belt.
1978 A. P. Balder Sport Diving ii. 14 The purpose of the weight belt is to help the diver achieve the weightless state.
weight-clock n. a clock operated by weights.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > other types of clock
watch-clock1592
German clock1598
quarter clocka1631
wheel-clock1671
table clocka1684
month clock1712
astronomical clock1719
musical clock1721
repeater1725
Tompion1727
pulling clock1733
regulator1735
eight-day clock1741
regulator clock1750
French clock1757
repetition clock1765
day clock1766
striker1778
chiming clock1789
cuckoo-clock1789
night clock1823
telltale1827
carriage clock1828
fly-clock1830
steeple clock1830
telltale clock1832
skeleton clock1842
telegraph clock1842
star clock1850
weight-clock1850
prison clock1853
crystal clock1854
pillar scroll top clock1860
sheep's-head clock1872
presentation clock1875
pillar clock1880
stop-clock1881
Waterbury1882
calendar-clock1884
ting-tang clock1884
birdcage clock1886
sheep's head1887
perpetual calendar1892
bracket clock1894
Act of Parliament clock1899
cartel clock1899
banjo-clock1903
master clock1904
lantern clock1913
time clock1919
evolutionary clock1922
lancet clock1922
atomic clock1927
quartz clock1934
clock radio1946
real-time clock1953
organ clock1956
molecular clock1974
travelling clock2014
1850 E. B. Denison Rudimentary Treat. Clock & Watch Making i. lxxxi. 110 The great wheel of a weight-clock rides on the barrel arbor.
weight cloth n. a cloth carried by a jockey to make up his riding-weight; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > equipment > [noun] > cloths
weight cloth1887
number cloth1924
1887 R. Kipling Broken-link Handicap in Civil & Mil. Gaz. 6 Apr. 3/4 You can arrange the race with regard to Shackles only. So long as you don't bury him under weight-cloths, I don't mind.
1888 R. Kipling In Pride of Youth in Plain Tales from Hills 181 Maybe, Fate's weight-cloths are breaking his heart.
1889 Daily News 4 June 3/8 Before..her driver could return to weigh in, his weight cloths were abstracted from the sulky.
weight function n. Physics a function that specifies the weight (sense 15b) of some quantity.
ΚΠ
1930 A. E. Ruark & H. C. Urey Atoms, Molecules & Quanta 747 Other systems of polynomials often used in wave mechanics are obtained by orthogonalizing the system, p1/2, xp1/2, x2p1/2,..where p(x) is a so-called ‘weight function’.
1974 G. Reece tr. F. Hund Hist. Quantum Theory ii. 33 He made use of a weight function G(E/v) for the enumeration of states.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > equipment for weighing > [noun] > place where weighing is done
weigh-house1438
weight-house1714
scale house1754
weighing-house1819
weigh-box1907
1714 tr. French Bk. of Rates 300 Any of the Duties of the King's Weight-House.
weight nail n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > nail > nails for other specific uses
stay-nail1296
wough-nailc1300
strake-nail1334
wall-nail1344
traverse nail1348
doornail1350
gad-nail1375
lath-nail1388
clout-nail1463
lattice-nail1480
lath-brod1536
sheathing-nail1611
bellows-nail1731
weight nail1850
panel pin1867
wheeler1873
fencing-nail1874
brattice-nail1880
toggle1934
1850 J. Greenwood Sailor's Sea-bk. 134 Weight nails are similar to deck nails, but not so fine, have square heads, and are used for fastening cleats, &c.
weight-plate n. a plate on which articles are set to be weighed in a weighing-machine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > equipment for weighing > [noun] > a weighing apparatus > for weighing heavy bodies > part on which article placed
weight-plate1887
1887 P. McNeill Blawearie 169 The colliery engineer was quickly on the ground, [and] the weight-plate removed.
weight-pole n. U.S. (see quot. 1843).
ΚΠ
1822 J. Woods Eng. Prairie 276 Short pieces of wood placed on the boards, to keep up the weight-poles.
1843 Amer. Pioneer 3 445 The weight poles[of a log cabin] are those small logs laid on the roof, which weigh down the course of clap-boards on which they lie, and against which the next course above is placed.
weight training n. a method of physical training involving the use of weights.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > training > [noun]
training1581
work1846
training session1850
overtraining1856
roadwork1856
cross-training1903
groundwork1906
sweat1916
repetition1919
repetition running1955
weight training1955
circuit training1957
interval running1957
interval training1962
repetition training1965
brick1996
1955 O. State Weight Training for Athletics i. 17 Weight training..implies training with light weights..for the purpose of improving one's performance in a particular sport.
1957 S. Duncan & K. Bone Oxf. Pocket Bk. Athletic Training (ed. 2) iii. 24 Weight training may now be regarded as an essential part of athletic training.
1976 E. Dunphy Only a Game? v. 147 We have to do weights. I don't believe in weight-training.
Draft additions 1993
Typography (a) The heaviness of a fount of type, determined by the thickness of strokes in the individual sorts; (b) the degree of emphasis or blackness of a typeface.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > [noun] > measure of heaviness or emphasis of type
weight1771
1771 P. Luckombe Hist. & Art of Printing 239 A Fount of Roman Letter, of what Body or Weight soever, is constituted of Lower-case Sorts, Capitals, Double Letters, [etc.].
1808 C. Stower Printer's Gram. ii. 44 It must have originated from avaricious motives—either to add to the weight of the letter, or to confine the printer exclusively to one foundry.
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 61 Imperfections, short sorts required to perfect a typefounder's bill for a fount of a certain weight.
1922 D. B. Updike Printing Types I. ii. 19 The earlier form of letter, with slighter differences in contrasting weight of stroke, we now call ‘old style’; the much later form, exhibiting greater contrasts of thick and thin lines, constitutes a ‘modern face’ letter.
1983 E. R. Tufte Visual Display Quantitative Information ix. 185 An effective aesthetic device is the orthogonal intersection of lines of different weights.
Draft additions 1993
plural. Heavy objects (usually of circular or rectangular cross-section) designed to be used in lifting and other exercises to improve or demonstrate physical strength, fitness, etc. Cf. weight training n. at Compounds 3 below.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > gymnastics > exercise > [noun] > equipment > others
trochus1706
troque1743
chamber horse1747
dumb-bell1785
stock1831
rowing machine1848
chest-expander1850
weights1862
stationary bicycle1883
punching bag1888
medicine ball1895
punching ball1895
stationary bike1899
kettlebell1908
rower1933
Exercycle1936
exercise bicycle1937
exercise bike1946
exercise cycle1952
roller1970
life cycle1973
multi-gym1976
gut-buster1983
roller1992
1862 S. Smiles Lives of Engineers III. 25 Lifting heavy weights, throwing the hammer and putting the stone.
1893 Westm. Gaz. 10 Feb. 9/1 He has been a trapezist, a wire-walker, bar-performer, lifter of weights, a contortionist, a leaper, a clown, and bare-backed and pad rider.
1956 Muscle Power Mar. 38/3 Slowly..Julio approached his weights. Training in his own house for 8 months he gained from 116 to 132 pounds.
1969 P. Roth Portnoy's Complaint 53 Heshie kept a set of York weights with which he worked out every afternoon before the opening of the track season.
1986 New Yorker 21 July 51/2 I'm jogging now as well as doing weights.
Draft additions September 2013
weight train v. to exercise using weights; to engage in weight training.
ΚΠ
1958 Times 19 Apr. 11/1 Newton..has been weight-training for three years.
2009 J. Brownlee Fitness by Faith 121 Your goal will be to weight train at least two to three times per week.
Draft additions September 2013
ˈweight-trained adj. that has trained with weights; (also of a person's muscles or physique) toned or developed by the practice of weight training.
ΚΠ
1964 Black Belt Nov. 37/1 While weight trained swimmers do get stronger, they do not swim any faster than those who have not had this training.
1985 Bodypower Oct. p. iii/1 The general public is realising that the weight-trained shape is desirable and sexy.
2011 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 19 Mar. (Mag. section) 11 At times, blinded by his medallion, weight-trained shoulders and groovy pink shirt, she thinks he looks alarmingly like Gary Glitter.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
weightn.2
/wɛxt/, /wɛkt/, U.S. /wɛkt/, /wɛxt/, Scottish English /wɛxt/ Scottish and northern.
A farm utensil resembling a sieve in form, with a bottom of sheepskin or wood (unperforated), used for winnowing corn, also as a measure. For timbre wecht: see timbre n.1 b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [noun] > winnowing > fan, cloth, or basket
fana800
windlec1175
weight1354
winnowing-cloth1375
winnow-sheetc1394
winnow-cloth1404
vanc1450
wind-cloth1500
wimsheet1532
winding-cloth1548
shaul1553
winnow1580
wan?1615
sail-fan1707
wind-screen1763
wind-sheet1891
1354 in J. Raine Charters Priory Finchale (1837) p. xxxvi iiij wyeygtes.
1360 in J. Raine Charters Priory Finchale (1837) p. lii ij weghtes.
1371 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 129 iij riddils; j whight.
c1381 ( in W. Greenwell Boldon Bk. (1852) 23 Et j. wheit de scatmalt, et j. wehit de farina, et j. wehit de avena.
1483 Cath. Angl. 412/2 A Weght, capisterium.
1724 A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (1733) II. 181 My bairn has tocher of her awin..A Wecht, a peet-creel and a cradle.
c1780 M. Lonsdale in S. Gilpin Songs & Ballads Cumbld. (1866) 279 Theer was whangs an' shives, thick an' thin, I' weights an' riddles putt'n.
1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 160 Meg fain wad to the Barn gaen, To winn three wechts o' naething.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 283 Wechts or maunds for taking up corn are made either of wood or of skin, attached to a rim of wood... Wechts should be made of [two] different sizes.
1898 J. Colville Sc. Vernacular 12 When snow covered the ground, the barn wecht or close sieve was the favourite [bird] trap.
Derivatives
ˈwechtful n. the amount contained in a ‘weight’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > amount defined by capacity > [noun] > amount that fills a receptacle > sieve
sievefula1440
wechtful1808
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Wechtful, as much as a wecht can contain.
1832 T. Carlyle Reminisc. (1881) I. 29 Potatoes were little in use then; a ‘wechtful’ was stored up to be eaten perhaps about Halloween.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 273 Another woman, with a smaller wecht, takes up the good grain..and divides the wechtful between the other two women.
wecht v. (transitive) to winnow (corn) with a ‘weight’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [verb (transitive)] > winnow
fanc1000
van1340
winnow1382
windle14..
wim1455
wimble1553
ventilate1609
dight?1611
eventilate1623
wind1786
wecht1804
1804 W. Tarras Poems 67 She wechts the corn anent the blaw.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 283.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
weightv.
/weɪt/, U.S. /weɪt/ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > be in adversity [verb (intransitive)] > be oppressed
weight1647
the world > action or operation > adversity > suffer (adversity or affliction) [verb (transitive)] > afflict > oppress or afflict
heavyc897
narroweOE
overlayOE
overseamOE
twingea1300
to weigh downa1340
grieve1340
besit1377
oppressc1384
foila1400
thringa1400
empressc1400
enpressc1400
aska1425
press?a1425
peisea1450
straita1464
constraina1500
overhale1531
to grate on or upon1532
wrack1562
surcharge1592
to lie heavy uponc1595
to weigh back, on one side, to the earth1595
to sit on ——1607
to sit upon ——1607
gall1614
bear1645
weight1647
obsess1648
aggrieve1670
swinge1681
lean1736
gravitate1754
weigh1794
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being harassed > condition of being oppressed > be oppressed [verb (intransitive)]
weight1647
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being harassed > condition of being oppressed > oppress [verb (transitive)]
beareOE
charka1300
to weigh downa1340
besit1377
to bear (a person or thing) heavyc1384
oppressc1384
thringa1400
empressc1400
accloyc1425
to sit downa1450
threst1513
downtread1536
to weigh back, on one side, to the earth1595
to bear (a person or thing) hard (also heavily, heavy, etc.)1602
pressa1616
weight1647
to bear (a person or thing) heavily1702
weigh1794
freight1892
1647 R. Baillie Let. 26 Jan. (1842) III. 3 However this silence sometimes weighted my mind, yet I found it the best and wisest course.
1654 A. Johnston Diary (1919) II. 230 Shoe told me my daughter Elizabeth had found under hir seaknesse a deserted condition and now shoe was weyghted with it.
1728 P. Walker Life A. Peden (1827) I. 80 When he awak'd, he seem'd more than ordinary weighted, and groan'd heavily, saying, Sad Days for Scotland.
2. figurative.1825 S. T. Coleridge Aids Refl. 78 We may see with complacency the Arrows of Satire feathered with Wit, weighted with Sense, and discharged by a strong Arm, fly home to their mark.1860 J. L. Motley Hist. Netherlands (1868) I. ii. 46 Intricate nets of diplomatic intrigue,..thoroughly weighted with Mexican gold.
a. To load with a weight; to supply with an additional weight; to make weighty. Also with down.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > weight [verb (transitive)] > make heavy > add weight to
peisea1450
ballast1566
loaden1568
load1578
poise1586
ingravidate1642
imponderate1667
clog1692
weight1747
1747 W. Hooson Miners Dict. sig. G3b If the Wholes be too soft, that we think it will let the Forks settle when they come to be weighted, we put a Sill under them.
1808 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Devon i. 65 The large masses [of stone] used for weighting the levers of the cider-presses.
1852 C. Tomlinson Cycl. Useful Arts (1854) II. 133/1 The boards..are..filled with earth to weight them down.
1885 Manch. Examiner 10 Sept. 5/3 A bough is cut from a tree..weighted with a few heavy stones and then dragged over the soil.
b. figurative. To oppress with weight, to weigh down; chiefly passive, to be heavily burdened (by or with oppressive conditions or circumstances). Also with down.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > [verb (intransitive)] > be burdened
weight1858
1858 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (ed. 2) III. xvii. 445 Weighted as he was with faults,..he fought his battle bravely.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch III. v. xlvi. 57 It wants to have a House of Commons which is not weighted with nominees of the landed class.
1880 A. C. Swinburne Study of Shakespeare 236 The memory of Mr. Tennyson would be weighted and degraded by the ascription of whole volumes of pilfered and diluted verse.
c. technical. To add weight to (an inferior commodity) by the admixture or use of an adulterant.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > perform general or industrial manufacturing processes [verb (transitive)] > add weight by adulterant
weight1862
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > condition or state of being mixed or blended > mix or blend [verb (transitive)] > add as ingredient to a mixture > qualify by admixture > adulterate > in order to increase weight
load1860
weight1862
1862 C. O'Neill Dict. Calico Printing 19 A sulphate of baryta..is used for ‘weighting;’ that is, for giving weight and apparent body and firmness to inferior goods.
1886 Daily Tel. 24 June (Cassell) Dark arts are in certain quarters practised..in disguising and weighting teas.
1895 Daily News 1 Oct. 6/3 The ingenuity of the foreign dyer was such that he was able to ‘weight’ or adulterate his silk.
d. Statistics. To multiply the components of (an average) by compensating factors; to treat (the components of any numerical quantity) similarly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > collect or employ statistics [verb (transitive)] > alter or modify
smooth1889
weight1901
partial1928
skew1929
studentize1934
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > collect or employ statistics [verb (intransitive)] > alter or modify
weight1927
1901 A. L. Bowley Elem. Statistics 111 The very important statistical method known as ‘weighting the average’.
1901 A. L. Bowley Elem. Statistics 111 Should we weight the numbers given by the total numbers of inhabitants of the contributing counties, or by their distance from London, or by some quantity derived from these?
1927 C. E. Spearman Abilities of Man App. p. xviii We urgently require to know how the single tests should be relatively ‘weighted’ in their combination.
1971 I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth v. 82 The individual data were weighted according to quality, so that a poorly determined result makes a smaller contribution to the mean than a precisely determined value.
1976 Daily Record (Glasgow) 30 Nov. Replies were weighted by age and General Election voting to make sure they were representative of all Record readers.
1977 Whitaker's Almanack 1219 In working out the [cost-of-living] index figure, the price changes are ‘weighted’—that is, given different degrees of importance—in accordance with the pattern of consumption of the average family.
e. To impart weight or force to.
ΚΠ
1922 E. Bramah Kai Lung's Golden Hours viii. 188 So expertly was the thrust weighted that the point of the weapon protruded on the other side.
3. To assign to (a horse) the weight he must carry in a handicap race. (Cf. weight n.1 12a.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > ride horse in race [verb (transitive)] > weigh rider > assign handicap or weight
handicap1789
weight1846
1846 R. Darvill Treat. Race Horse (ed. 3) II. 286 Such horse is generally highly weighted, to bring him on a fair equality with the others.
1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports ii. i. i. §2 Horses are constantly entered and run solely with the view of inducing the handicapper to ‘weight’ them at a low scale.
1883 ‘Rapier’ Types of Turf 73 A very bad colt..was weighted in a manner ludicrously disproportionate to his capacity.
4.
a. (In senses of weigh v.1) transitive. To ascertain the weight of (goods, etc.) by means of a weighing machine; to weigh. literal and figurative. Also colloquial, to feel the weight or heaviness of (something held in the hands).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > ascertain the weight of [verb (transitive)]
weighc1000
aweighOE
peisea1382
poise1458
ponder?1518
pound1570
tron1609
perpenda1612
librate1623
scale1691
weight1734
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > ascertain the weight of [verb (transitive)] > again > estimate weight by holding in hands
peisea1393
weigh1540
heft1816
weight1898
1734 J. Steuart Let.-bk. (1915) 378 Your meall to be weighted with the common standard weights of Mariebrugh.
1865 J. Hamilton Poems, etc. (1870) 154 It's England mak's an' sign's the peace..; Whan Europe's balance gangs agee, She trims the scales for wechtin'.
1898 L. Quiller-Couch Span. Maid xiv. 202 Why, there hasn' a-bin a touch of cold in the air..; an' heavy!—you can a-most weight it in yer hands.
b. Of a jockey: to weight out, in, to undergo weighing before or after a race. = weigh v.1 9a.
ΚΠ
1877 Rules of Racing §34 (iii) It is optional for the jockey to weight out or in with his bridle.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1a1000
n.21354
v.1647- to get the etc end of the stick
- to get the feel of
- to get the full treatment
- to get the gate
- to get the glaik(s
- to get the goods on
- to get the grand bounce
- to get the hang of
- to get the hare's foot to lick
- to get the heck out of dodge
- to get the heels of
- to get the hell out
- to get the hell out of
- to get the hell out of dodge
- to get the hill
- to get the horn
- to get the hot hand
- to get the hots for
- to get the inturn
- to get the jacket
- to get the jump on
- to get the laugh on one's side
- to get the lines crossed
- to get the lowdown
- to get the lowdown on