*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of heft

The noun is derived from Late Middle English heft (“heaviness; something heavy, a weight”), from heven (“to lift, raise”) + -th (suffix denoting a condition, quality, state of being, etc., forming nouns), by analogy with

5 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 5 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

The feel of the weight of something; heaviness. · The force exerted by an object due to gravitation; weight. · Graveness, seriousness; gravity. · Importance, influence; weight.

verb

To lift or lift up (something, especially a heavy object). · To test the weight of (something) by lifting. · To evaluate or test (someone or something). · To have (substantial) weight; to weigh.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

The noun is derived from Late Middle English heft (“heaviness; something heavy, a weight”), from heven (“to lift, raise”) + -th (suffix denoting a condition, quality, state of being, etc., forming nouns), by analogy with the development of weft from weven (modern English weave), etc. (also compare words like cleft from cleave, and theft from thieve, where the development occurred in Old English or earlier languages). The English word is analysable as heave + -t (suffix forming nouns from verbs). The verb is probably derived from the noun.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionheftenm · heaviness; something heavy, a weight
  • Cognate mentionweaveen

This page abbreviates 3 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

simple past and past participle of heave

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From heave + -t (suffix forming the past and/or past participle forms of verbs).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Word-formation componentheaveen
  • Word-formation component-ten
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A piece of pastureland which farm animals (chiefly cattle or sheep) have become accustomed to. · A flock or group of farm animals (chiefly cattle or sheep) which have become accustomed to a particular piece of pastureland.

verb

To accustom (a flock or group of farm animals, chiefly cattle or sheep) to a piece of pastureland. · To establish or settle (someone) in an occupation or place of residence. · To establish or plant (something) firmly in a place; to fix, to root, to settle. · Of a thing: to establish or settle itself in a place.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

The noun is borrowed from Scots heft, haft (“pasture which sheep are familiar with; attachment of sheep to a pasture; number of sheep grazing on such a pasture; (obsolete) place of residence; situation”), probably from Old Norse hefð (“occupation; possession; prescriptive right”), from hafa (“to have; to keep, retain”), from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to have; to hold”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-, *keh₂p- (“to hold; to seize”). The verb is borrowed from Scots heft (“to cause (cattle or sheep) to become familiar with a pasture; of animals: to become familiar with a pasture; (figurative) of a person: to become settled in an occupation or place”), probably from Old Norse hefða (“to acquire prescriptive rights”), from hefð (noun): see above. Both the noun and verb may have been influenced by Scots heft (“(noun) handle of an implement, haft; (verb) to fit (an implement) with a handle”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionheftsco
  • Derivation mentionhefðnon · occupation; possession; prescriptive right
  • Derivation mention*habjanągem-pro · to have; to hold
  • Derivation mention*kap-ine-pro
  • Borrowed-form mentionheftsco · to cause (cattle or sheep) to become familiar with a pasture; of animals: to become familiar with a pasture; (figurative) of a person: to become settled in an occupation or place
  • Derivation mentionhefðanon · to acquire prescriptive rights
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
verb

To cause (milk) to be held in a cow's udder until the latter becomes hard and swollen, either by not milking the cow or by stopping up the teats, to make the cow look healthy; also, to cause (a cow) to have an udder in this condition. · To cause (urine) to be held in a person's bladder.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Scots heft, from Old Norse hepta (“to bind; to hinder, impede; to hold back, restrain”), from Proto-Germanic *haftijaną (“to bind; to secure”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to hold, seize”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*kap-ine-pro
  • Borrowed-form mentionheftsco
  • Derivation mentionheptanon · to bind; to hinder, impede; to hold back, restrain
  • Derivation mention*haftijanągem-pro · to bind; to secure
  • Derivation mention*kap-ine-pro · to hold, seize
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Source etymology 5

Original entry ↗
noun

A number of sheets of paper fastened together, as to form a book or a notebook. · A part of a serial publication; a fascicle, an issue, a number.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from German Heft (“issue of a serial publication, number; magazine; notebook; notepad”), a back-formation from heften (“to fasten”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *haftijaną (“to bind; to secure”): see further at etymology 4.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionHeftde · issue of a serial publication, number; magazine; notebook; notepad
  • Derivation mention*haftijanągem-pro · to bind; to secure
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    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for heft →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-aGVmdA