Emily Dickinson Lexicon

WEFT, v. [old pret. of Wave. Spenser.]

WEFT'AGE, n.

Texture. [Not used] Grew.

WEIGH, n.

A certain quantity. A weigh of wool, cheese, &c., is 256 pounds avoirdupois; a weigh of corn is forty bushels; of barley or malt, six quarters. Encyc. Cyc.

WEIGH, v.i.

1. To have weight; as, to weigh lighter or heavier. Brown.
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 stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff, / Which weighs upon the heart. Shak. To weigh down, to sink by its own weight.

WEIGH, v.t. [wa; Sax. wæg, weg, a balance; wægan, to weigh, to bear, to carry, L. veho; D. weegen, wikken; G. wögen; Sw. väga; Dan. vejer, to weigh; Russ. vaga, a balance; Amharic, አዋቂ, awaki, weight. 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. Zech. xi.
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. Hooker.
6. To compare by the scales. Here in nice balance truth with gold she weighs. Pope.
7. To regard; to consider as worthy of notice. I weigh not you. Shak. To weigh down, to overbalance. #2. To oppress with weight; to depress.

WEIGH'A-BLE, a.

That may be weighed.

WEIGH'ED, pp.

1. Examined by the scales; having the weight ascertained.
2. Considered.
3. adj. Experienced; as, a young man not weighed in state affairs. [Not in use.] Bacon.

WEIGH'ER, n.

1. One who weighs.
2. An officer whose duty is to weigh commodities.

WEIGH'ING, n.

1. The act of ascertaining weight.
2. As much as is weighed at once; as, a weighing of beef.

WEIGH'ING, ppr.

Examining by scales; considering.

WEIGH'ING-CAGE, n.

A cage in which small living animals may be conveniently weighed. Cyc.

WEIGH'ING-HOUSE, n.

A building furnished with a dock and other conveniences for weighing commodities and ascertaining the tunnage of boats to be used on a canal. Cyc.

WEIGH-ING-MA-CHINE, n.

1. A machine for weighing heavy bodies, and particularly wheel carriages, at turnpike gates. Cyc. England.
2. A machine for weighing cattle.

WEIGHT, n. [wate; Sax. wiht; Sw. vigt; Ger. gewicht. See Weigh.]

1. The quantity of a body, ascertained by the balance; in a philosophical sense, that quality of bodies by which they tend toward the center of the earth in a line perpendicular to its surface. In short, weight is gravity, and the weight of a particular body is the amount of its gravity, or of the force with which it tends to the center. The weight of a body is in direct proportion to its quantity of matter. Newton.
2. A mass of iron, lead, brass or other metal, to be used for ascertaining the weight of other bodies; as, a weight of an ounce, a pound, a quarter of a hundred, &c. The weights of nations are different, except those of England and the United States, which are the same.
3. A ponderous mass; something heavy. A man leaps better with weights in his hands. Bacon.
4. Pressure; burden; as, the weight of grief; weight of care; weight of business; weight of government.
5. Importance; power; influence; efficacy; consequence; moment; impressiveness; as, an argument of great weight; a consideration of vast weight. The dignity of a man's character adds weight to his words.

WEIGHT'I-LY, adv.

1. Heavily; ponderously.
2. With force or impressiveness; with moral power.

WEIGHT'I-NESS, n.

1. Ponderousness; gravity; heaviness.
2. Solidity; force; impressiveness; power of convincing; as, the weightiness of an argument. Locke.
3. Importance. Hayward.

WEIGHT'LESS, a.

Having no weight; light. Dryden.

WEIGHT'Y, a.

1. Having great weight; heavy; ponderous; as, a weighty body.
2. Important; forcible; momentous; adapted to turn the balance in the mind, or to convince; as, weighty reasons; weighty matters; weighty considerations or arguments. Shak.
3. Rigorous; severe; as, our weightier judgment. [Not in use.] Shak.

WEIRD, a.

Skilled in witchcraft. [Not in use.] Shak.

WEIRD, n.

A spell or charm. W. Scott.

WEIVE, v. [or n.]

for Waive. [Not in use.] Gower.

WEL'A-WAY, exclam.

An exclamation expressive of grief or sorrow, equivalent to alas. It is a compound of Sax. wa, wo, and la, oh. The original is wa-la, which is doubtless the origin of our common exclamation, O la, and to this, wa, wo, is added. The true orthography would be wa la wa. But the word is, I believe, wholly obsolete.

WEL'COME, a. [Sax. wil-cuma; well and come; that is, your coming is pleasing to me.]

1. Received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment and company; as, a welcome guest.
2. Grateful; pleasing; as, a welcome present; welcome news.
3. Free to have or enjoy gratuitously. You are welcome to the use of my library. To bid welcome, to receive with professions of kindness. Bacon.

WEL'COME, n.

1. Salutation of a new comer. Welcome ever smiles. Shak.
2. Kind reception of a guest or new comer. We entered the house and found a ready welcome.

WEL'COME, v.

Is used elliptically for you are welcome. Welcome, great monarch, to your own. Dryden. Welcome to our house, an herb.