weight English · revision 3287

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1000|origins=gem-pro *wihtiz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /weɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|weght]], also wihte and wight,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) [[inh|ang|gewiht]], wiht,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from the verb [[m|ang|wegan|t=to weigh]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*wihtiz|alt=*wihti-]],^(Etymonline) the source also of Old Frisian wicht, Dutch gewicht, German Gewicht and Old Norse vætt.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) It goes back to [[ine-pro|*wegh-]], the root of [[weigh]].^(AHD 2000)^(Etymonline) The final -t forms nouns from verbs in Germanic, and the vowel, which on the pattern of night and sight would give wight, was changed by the influence of weigh.^(Barnhart 1988)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English gewiht, “weighing; heaviness”, is from before 1000,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and Middle English wihte from before 1123, in the ''Peterborough Chronicle''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the mid-14th century a weight was a piece of metal used for its heaviness, as in fishing;^(Etymonline) the figurative sense “burden” and the sense “what one weighs” are from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) “Importance” is by the 1520s, and clock weights by the 1510s.^(Etymonline) ''To lose weight'', of a person, is recorded by 1858,^(Etymonline) weight-lifting from 1885 and weight training from 1945.^(Etymonline) ''To pull one's weight'' is from rowing by 1869, and was made prominent in 1902 by Theodore Roosevelt.^(Etymonline) The verb, “to burden”, is from 1647,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) “to load with weight” from 1747,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) of horses in a handicap race from 1846,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in statistics from 1901.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1000 – Old English gewiht.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-14th century – a heavy piece of metal.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – a burden; what one weighs.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – importance.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1647 – verb, to burden.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1747 – verb, to load with weight.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1858 – ''to lose weight''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1885 – weight-lifting.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1902 – ''to pull one's weight'' popularized.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1945 – weight training.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # How heavy something or someone is.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(physics)'' The [[force]] with which [[gravity]] pulls on a body.^(AHD)

+ # A unit or system of units for measuring heaviness.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A heavy object, such as one used on a [[scale]] or lifted for exercise.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A [[burden]] or responsibility.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Importance or [[influence]]: ''carry weight''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make heavier, or hold down with a weight.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To burden or oppress.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To give a [[bias]] to: ''weighted in their favour''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(statistics)'' To give items different values according to their importance.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[weighter]]

+ * [[bantamweight]]

+ * [[counterweight]]

+ * [[featherweight]]

+ * [[flyweight]]

+ * [[heavyweight]]

+ * [[lightweight]]

+ * [[overweight]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[weigh]]

+ * [[weighty]]

+ * [[weightless]]

+ * [[wain]]

+ * [[way]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different Scots and northern word ''weight'' or ''wecht'', from 1183, was a sieve-like tool with a bottom of sheepskin, used for winnowing.^(OED 1989)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}