Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HEFT, n. [Sax. hefe, from hefan, to heave, to lift.]

1. Heaving; effort. He cracks his gorge, his sides, / With violent hefts. [Not used.] Shak.
2. Weight; ponderousness. [This use is common in popular language in America. And we sometimes hear it used as a verb, as, to heft, to lift for the purpose of feeling or judging of the weight.]
3. [D. heft.] A handle; a haft. [Not used.] Waller.