lightweight English · revision 39813

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1770, The Younger Brother}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * US: /ˈlaɪt.weɪt/, /laɪtˈweɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[light]] (the adjective meaning “not heavy”) and [[weight]];^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) the OED compares [[heavyweight]] and [[m|de|Leichtgewicht]], recorded in the 18th century.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person or animal of less than average weight: 1770, in the novel ''The Younger Brother''.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the noun to 1773, in horse racing and boxing,^(Etymonline) and Dictionary.com gives 1765–75.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun spread through sport: a horse carrying a light handicap or a jockey riding at a low weight from 1773, in a letter of Edmund Burke,^(OED 2026) a boxer in a weight class between featherweight and welterweight from 1817,^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) and a rower in a weight-limited class from 1834.^(OED 2026) The adjective is first recorded in its figurative sense, “insignificant, lacking depth”, in 1809, in E. S. Barrett's satire ''The Setting Sun'',^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(GDoS) and Merriam-Webster also dates this sense to 1809.^(MWU 2024) The noun was applied in the same way to a person or thing of little importance from 1831,^(OED 2026) a use Green's Dictionary of Slang records as originally American.^(GDoS) The literal adjective, light in weight, is recorded for clothes and materials from 1837;^(OED 2026) a lightweight garment, especially a suit, is a ''lightweight'' from 1919,^(OED 2026) and a person who gets drunk easily from 1937.^(OED 2026) A verb, to reduce the weight of materials in a product or its packaging, appears in 1955.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1770 – noun: a person or animal under the average weight.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1773 – horse racing: a horse carrying a light weight.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1809 – adjective: insignificant, trivial.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1817 – boxing: a weight class and a boxer in it.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1831 – noun: a person of little importance.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1837 – adjective: light in weight.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1937 – a person with a low tolerance for alcohol.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1955 – verb: to reduce the weight of a product.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[boxer]] or other competitor in the weight class between [[featherweight]] and [[welterweight]]; the class itself.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A person or thing of little importance, influence or intellectual depth: ''As a minister she was dismissed as a lightweight.''^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # Something that weighs less than average, such as a light garment.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # (informal) Someone who becomes drunk after very little alcohol.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Light in weight, especially lighter than usual for its kind: ''a lightweight tent''.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # Of little importance or seriousness; [[trivial]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # Of or relating to the lightweight class in sport.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make a product or its packaging lighter by using less material.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ultralightweight]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[light]]

+ * [[weight]]

+ * [[heavyweight]]

+ * [[featherweight]]

+ * [[welterweight]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}