Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PON'DER-OUS, a. [L. ponderosus; It. Sp. and Port. ponderoso.]

1. Very heavy; weighty; as, a ponderous shield; a ponderous load.
2. Important; momentous; as, a ponderous project. [This application of the word is unusual.]
3. Forcible; strongly impulsive; as, a motion vehement or ponderous; a ponderous blow. – Bacon. Dryden. Ponderous spar, heavy spar, or baryte.