weigh
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: simple
Topics: nautical
transport
Etymology: From Middle English weyen, from Old English wegan, from Proto-West Germanic *wegan, from Proto-Germanic *weganą (“to move, carry, weigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéǵʰeti, from *weǵʰ- (“to bring, transport”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots wey, wee, Dutch wegen, German wiegen, wägen, Danish veje, Norwegian Bokmål veie, Norwegian Nynorsk vega. Doublet of wedge, wagon, way, and vector.
Inflected forms:
form: weighs
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: weighing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: weighed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: weighed
pos: verb
tags: past
form: waye
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: weye
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: weighs
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: waye
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: weye
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
Senses:
gloss: To determine the weight of an object.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: Often with "out", to measure a certain amount of something by its weight, e.g. for sale.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: He weighed out two kilos of oranges for a client.
gloss: To determine the intrinsic value or merit of an object, to evaluate.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
transitive
examples: You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
He took a long time weighing his options.
As they started picking features, customers would carefully weigh the choices, but as decision fatigue set in they'd start settling for whatever the default option was.
gloss: To judge; to estimate.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
obsolete
examples: But ſhe thereof grew proud and inſolent, / That none ſhe worthie thought to be her fere, / But ſcornd them all, that loue vnto her ment; / Yet was ſhe lou’d of many a worthy pere, / Vnworthy ſhe to be belou’d ſo dere, / That could not weigh of worthineſſe aright.
gloss: To consider a subject.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To have a certain weight.
pos: verb
tags: copulative
intransitive
stative
examples: I weigh ten and a half stone.
Each half-section of the battery weighs about eight tons, and the two underframes had to be strengthened to take this weight.
gloss: To have weight; to be heavy; to press down.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: If they ſhall faile, I with mine Enemies
Will triumph o're my perſon, which I waigh not,
Being of thoſe Vertues vacant.
They only weigh the heavier.
gloss: To be considered as important; to have weight in the intellectual balance.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Your vowes to her, and me,[…] / Will euen weigh, and both as light as tales.
I anſwer, this is a good Objection, and ought to weigh with thoſe whoſe Reading is deſign’d for much Talk and little Knowledge, and I have nothing to ſay to it.
gloss: To raise an anchor free of the seabed.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To weigh anchor.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Towards the euening we wayed, & approaching the ſhoare [...], we landed where there lay a many of baskets and much bloud, but ſaw not a Salvage.
Here we used to remain until nearly time for slack-water again, when we weighed and made for home.
gloss: To bear up; to raise; to lift into the air; to swing up.
pos: verb
examples: Weigh the vessel up.
gloss: To consider as worthy of notice; to regard.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
examples: Thinke you I weigh this treaſure more than you?
Not all the Gold in Indias welthy armes,
Shall buy the meaneſt ſouldier in my traine.
Them all, and all that ſhe ſo deare did way,[…]
Kat. So do not you, for you are a light Wench. / Roſ. Indeed I waigh not you, and therefore light. / Ka. You waigh me not, O that’s you care not for me.
gloss: The act of weighing, of measuring the weight
pos: noun
examples: Give the sugar a quick weigh.
Related words: weight
Derived words: aweigh
beweigh
downweigh
foreweigh
overweigh
weigh against
weigh a ton
weigh down
weigh enough
weigh in the balance
weigh in
weigh-in
weigh off
weigh on
weigh one's words
weigh out
weight
weighty
weigh up
weigh station
Translations: