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Webster 1913 Edition

Weigh

Weigh

(wā)
,
Noun.
(Naut.)
A corruption of
Way
, used only in the phrase
under weigh
.
An expedition was got under
weigh
from New York.
Thackeray.
The Athenians . . . hurried on board and with considerable difficulty got under
weigh
.
Jowett (Thucyd.).

Weigh

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Weighed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Weighing
.]
[OE.
weien
,
weyen
,
weghen
, AS.
wegan
to bear, move; akin to D.
wegen
to weigh, G.
wägen
,
wiegen
, to weigh, be
wegen
to move, OHG.
wegan
, Icel.
vega
to move, carry, lift, weigh, Sw.
väga
to weigh, Dan.
veie
, Goth. ga
wigan
to shake, L.
vehere
to carry, Skr.
vah
. [GREEK][GREEK][GREEK][GREEK]. See
Way
, and cf.
Wey
.]
1.
To bear up; to raise; to lift into the air; to swing up;
as, to
weigh
anchor
.
“Weigh the vessel up.”
Cowper.
2.
To examine by the balance; to ascertain the weight of, that is, the force with which a thing tends to the center of the earth; to determine the heaviness, or quantity of matter of;
as, to
weigh
sugar; to
weigh
gold.
Thou art
weighed
in the balances, and art found wanting.
Dan. v. 27.
3.
To be equivalent to in weight; to counterbalance; to have the heaviness of.
“A body weighing divers ounces.”
Boyle.
4.
To pay, allot, take, or give by weight.
They
weighed
for my price thirty pieces of silver.
Zech. xi. 12.
5.
To examine or test as if by the balance; to ponder in the mind; to consider or examine for the purpose of forming an opinion or coming to a conclusion; to estimate deliberately and maturely; to balance.
A young man not
weighed
in state affairs.
Bacon.
Had no better
weighed

The strength he was to cope with, or his own.
Milton.
Regard not who it is which speaketh, but
weigh
only what is spoken.
Hooker.
In nice balance, truth with gold she
weighs
.
Pope.
Without sufficiently
weighing
his expressions.
Sir W. Scott.
6.
To consider as worthy of notice; to regard.
[Obs. or Archaic]
“I weigh not you.”
Shak.
All that she so dear did
weigh
.
Spenser.
To weigh down
.
(a)
To overbalance.
(b)
To oppress with weight; to overburden; to depress.
“To weigh thy spirits down.”
Milton.

Weigh

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To have weight; to be heavy.
“They only weigh the heavier.”
Cowper.
2.
To be considered as important; to have weight in the intellectual balance.
Your vows to her and me . . . will even
weigh
.
Shakespeare
This objection ought to
weigh
with those whose reading is designed for much talk and little knowledge.
Locke.
3.
To bear heavily; to press hard.
Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff
Which
weighs
upon the heart.
Shakespeare
4.
To judge; to estimate.
[R.]
Could not
weigh
of worthiness aright.
Spenser.
To weigh down
,
to sink by its own weight.

Weigh

,
Noun.
[See
Wey
.]
A certain quantity estimated by weight; an English measure of weight. See
Wey
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Weigh

WEIGH

,
Verb.
T.
wa.
[L., G. See Wag.]
1.
To examine by the balance; to ascertain the weight, that is, the force with which a thing tends to the center of gravity; as, to weigh sugar; to weigh gold.
2.
To be equivalent to in weight; that is, according to the Saxon sense of the verb, to lift to an equipoise a weight on the other side of the fulcrum. Thus when a body balances a weight of twenty eight pounds avoirdupois, it lifts or bears it, and is said to weigh so much. It weighs a quarter of a hundred.
3.
To raise; to lift; as an anchor from the ground, or any other body; as, to weigh anchor; to weigh an old hulk.
4.
To pay, allot or take by weight.
They weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. Zechariah 11.
5.
To ponder in the mind; to consider or examine for the purpose of forming an opinion or coming to a conclusion; as, to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a scheme.
Regard not who it is which speaketh, but weigh only what is spoken.
6.
To compare by the scales.
Here in nice balance truth with gold she weighs.
7.
To regard; to consider as worthy of notice.
I weigh not you.
To weigh down,
1.
To overbalance.
2.
To oppress with weight; to depress.

WEIGH

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To have weight; as, to weigh lighter or heavier.
2.
To be considered as important; to have weight in the intellectual balance. This argument weighs with the considerate part of the community.
3.
To bear heavily; to press hard.
--Cleanse the stuffd bosom of that perilous stuff, which weighs upon the heart.
To weigh down, to sink by its own weight.

WEIGH

,
Noun.
A certain quantity. A weigh of wool, cheese, &c., is 256 lb. Avoirdupois; a weigh of corn is forty bushels; of barly or malt, six quarters.

Definition 2024

weigh

weigh

English

Verb

weigh ‎(third-person singular simple present weighs, present participle weighing, simple past and past participle weighed)

  1. (transitive) To determine the weight of an object.
  2. (transitive) Often with "out", to measure a certain amount of something by its weight, e.g. for sale.
    He weighed out two kilos of oranges for a client.
  3. (transitive, figuratively) To determine the intrinsic value or merit of an object, to evaluate.
    You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
  4. (intransitive, figuratively, obsolete) To judge; to estimate.
    • Spenser
      could not weigh of worthiness aright
  5. (transitive) To consider a subject. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  6. (transitive) To have a certain weight.
    I weigh ten and a half stone.
  7. (intransitive) To have weight; to be heavy; to press down.
    • Cowper
      They only weigh the heavier.
    • Shakespeare
      Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff / Which weighs upon the heart.
  8. (intransitive) To be considered as important; to have weight in the intellectual balance.
    • Shakespeare
      Your vows to her and me […] will even weigh.
    • John Locke
      This objection ought to weigh with those whose reading is designed for much talk and little knowledge.
  9. (transitive, nautical) To raise an anchor free of the seabed.
  10. (intransitive, nautical) To weigh anchor.
    • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, in Kupperman 1988, p. 91:
      Towards the evening we wayed, and approaching the shoare [...], we landed where there lay a many of baskets and much bloud, but saw not a Salvage.
    • 1841, Edgar Allan Poe, ‘A Descent into the Maelström’:
      ‘Here we used to remain until nearly time for slack-water again, when we weighed and made for home.’
  11. To bear up; to raise; to lift into the air; to swing up.
    • Cowper
      Weigh the vessel up.
  12. (obsolete) To consider as worthy of notice; to regard.
    • Shakespeare
      I weigh not you.
    • Spenser
      all that she so dear did weigh

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology

From Old English wegan, from Proto-Germanic *weganą, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-. Cognate with Scots wey or weich, Dutch wegen, German wiegen, wägen, Danish veje.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: wā, IPA(key): /weɪ/

Rhymes: -eɪ

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