Etymologically
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heavy

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhev.i/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English hevy,[2][3] inherited from Old English hefiġ (“heavy, weighty; important, grave; oppressive; slow, dull”),[4][3] from Proto-Germanic *habigaz,[4][3] the source also of Old Saxon hebig, Old High German hebīg, Old Norse hǫfugr and Dutch hevig “violent, heavy”.[3][5][6] It is formed from the Germanic word for weight, Old English hefe,[5][6] and is related to the verb heave, Old English hebban;[3][2] Etymonline takes it to Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grasp”).[4] Most other Germanic languages use for “heavy” their cognate of Old English swǣr, now obsolete.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English hefig is recorded about 725;[3] Middle English hevi, “weighty, grave”, is from 1124.[3]

Semantic evolution

The figurative senses, important, grave, oppressive, dull, are as old as the physical one in Old English.[4] The noun, “something heavy, heaviness”, is from the mid-13th century.[4][3] Bread that has not risen properly is heavy from 1828.[7] In the theatre a heavy is a villain from 1880, short for phrases like heavy villain (1843) and heavy leading man (1849);[4] a weighty or influential person is a later American sense.[8][9] In physics heavy hydrogen is from 1933.[3][7] Heavy metal is attested by 1839 in chemistry, and in nautical jargon from at least 1744 for large-caliber guns on a ship;[4] as a kind of rock music it is from 1972.[4] The jazz slang sense “profound, serious” is from 1937.[4] Heavy industry is recorded from 1932.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – Old English hefig.[3]
  • 1124 – Middle English hevi.[3]
  • mid-13th century – noun, something heavy.[4]
  • 1744 – heavy metal, large ship's guns.[4]
  • 1828 – of bread, not risen.[7]
  • 1880 – noun, a stage villain.[4][3]
  • 1933 – heavy hydrogen.[3][7]
  • 1937 – jazz slang, profound.[4]
  • 1972 – heavy metal, rock music.[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Having great weight; hard to lift or carry.
  2. Having high density or specific gravity.
  3. Large in amount, force or intensity: heavy traffic, heavy rain.
  4. Hard to bear or deal with; oppressive or sad: a heavy heart.
  5. Serious and difficult to understand; profound.
  6. Thick and solid in build or appearance; dense or rich, as food.
  7. (physics) Of an isotope: having more mass than normal for the element.

Adverb

  1. Heavily: time hung heavy.

Noun

  1. A villain in a story or play; a serious or tragic role.
  2. (informal) A person of great importance or influence.
  3. (informal) A large, strong man employed to threaten or protect.

Word family

  • heaviness
  • heavy-laden
  • heave
  • heft
  • hefty
  • heavily
  • heavyweight

Usage notes

In dialect, heavy had several phrases of its own: in Yorkshire heavy of one's head meant dizzy or muddled.[10] A separate adjective heavy, of a horse, “suffering from the heaves”, is from 1864.[7]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)