Main Entry:

¹weight

Pronunciation:

\ˈwāt\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English wight, weght, from Old English wiht; akin to Old Norse vætt weight, Old English wegan to weigh

Date:

before 12th century

1 a: the amount that a thing weighs b (1): the standard or established amount that a thing should weigh (2): one of the classes into which contestants in a sports event are divided according to body weight (3): poundage required to be carried by a horse in a handicap race2 a: a quantity or thing weighing a fixed and usually specified amount b: a heavy object (as a metal ball) thrown, put, or lifted as an athletic exercise or contest3 a: a unit of weight or mass — see metric system table b: a piece of material (as metal) of known specified weight for use in weighing articles c: a system of related units of weight4 a: something heavy : load b: a heavy object to hold or press something down or to counterbalance5 a: burden, pressure <the weight of their responsibilities> b: the quality or state of being ponderous c: corpulence6 a: relative heaviness : mass b: the force with which a body is attracted toward the earth or a celestial body by gravitation and which is equal to the product of the mass and the local gravitational acceleration7 a: the relative importance or authority accorded something <the weight of her opinions> b: measurable influence especially on others <throwing his weight behind the proposal>8: overpowering force9: the quality (as lightness) that makes a fabric or garment suitable for a particular use or season —often used in combination <summer-weight>10: a numerical coefficient assigned to an item to express its relative importance in a frequency distribution11: the degree of thickness of the strokes of a type character

synonyms see importance, influence

[weight table]