different between weigh vs eigh

English

Alternative forms

• waye, weye (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English weghen, we?en, from Old English wegan, from Proto-Germanic *wegan? (“to move, carry, weigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *wé??eti, from *we??- (“to bring, transport”). Cognate with Scots wey or weich, Dutch wegen, German wiegen, wägen, Danish veje, Norwegian Bokmål veie, Norwegian Nynorsk vega. Doublet of wedge, wagon, way, and vector.

Pronunciation

• enPR: w?, IPA^(key): /we?/
• Rhymes: -e?
• Homophones: way, wey, whey (in accents with the wine-whine merger)

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.

3. (transitive, figuratively) To determine the intrinsic value or merit of an object, to evaluate.
4. (intransitive, figuratively, obsolete) To judge; to estimate.
5. (transitive) To consider a subject. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
6. (transitive) To have a certain weight.

7. (intransitive) To have weight; to be heavy; to press down.
   • They only weigh the heavier.

8. (intransitive) To be considered as important; to have weight in the intellectual balance.
9. (transitive, nautical) To raise an anchor free of the seabed.
10. (intransitive, nautical) To weigh anchor.
11. To bear up; to raise; to lift into the air; to swing up.
12. (obsolete) To consider as worthy of notice; to regard.

Usage notes

• In commercial and everyday use, the term "weight" is usually used to mean mass, and the verb "to weigh" means "to determine the mass of" or "to have a mass of".

Derived terms

Related terms

• weight

Translations

English

Interjection

eigh

1. Alternative form of eh
   • 1897, H. G. Wells, The Invisible Man (page 55)

     "Eigh?" said Kemp, with his mouth open. "Keep your nerve," said the Voice. "I'm an Invisible Man."

   • 1935, Paul Green, This Body the Earth

     "Eigh, eigh! he's killed me!" Mr. Utley shrieked. But none of the students made a move out of their seats.

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• deigh
• eighre

Etymology

From Old Irish aig, itself from Proto-Celtic *yegis. Cognate with Irish oighear, Welsh iâ, and Cornish yey.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ej/

Noun

eigh f (genitive singular eighe, no plural)

1. ice

Derived terms

• eigh-bheinn
• eigh-shruth
• leac-eighre