Etymologically
Log in

heavyweight

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word heavyweight

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1857 G. A. Lawrence, ''Guy Livingstone''
Ultimate origin
Old English hefiġ,gewiht
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English heavy
English heavyweight

Pronunciation

  • /ˈhɛ.vi.weɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English heavy + weight.[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person or animal heavier than average: 1857, in G. A. Lawrence's novel Guy Livingstone;[2][6] Etymonline dates this first use to horses.[3]

Semantic evolution

In racing it was used of a jockey of more than average weight,[2][4] and since 1877 of fighters,[3] later as the name of the heaviest weight class in boxing and wrestling.[4][7] The figurative sense, a person of weight or influence, began as American colloquial use: Green's Dictionary of Slang quotes it from 1879,[8] and the OED cites the Century Dictionary's definition.[2] From 1928, in Edmund Blunden, a heavyweight could also be a large or serious work,[2][3] while since 1895 the word was used attributively of things particularly heavy of their kind.[2][4]

Timeline

  • 1857 – a person or animal heavier than average.[2][6][3]
  • 1877 – of fighters.[3]
  • 1879 – an important or influential person.[8]
  • 1895 – attributive, particularly heavy of its kind.[2]
  • 1928 – a work of large size or serious content.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person, animal or thing heavier than average.[7][6][2]
  2. A boxer or wrestler in the heaviest weight class, in professional boxing over 175 pounds; also the class itself.[7][6][4]
  3. (informal) An important or influential person: the heavyweights of the party.[7][6][4]
  4. An unusually large or heavy object, such as a truck or warship.[6]
  5. A large or serious work.[2]

Adjective

  1. Particularly heavy of its kind; of or relating to heavyweights: a heavyweight bout.[4][2]
  2. Important, influential or serious.[8][4]

Word family

  • superheavyweight
  • light heavyweight

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
Cite this entry

“Heavyweight.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/heavyweight. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·