heft

heft · noun, verb¹

1. Middle English · inherited fromheft“heaviness; something heavy, a weight”
2. English todayheft

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.

heft · verb²

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

heft · noun, verb³

1. Old Norse · derived fromhefða“to acquire prescriptive rights”
2. Scots · borrowed fromheft“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”
3. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kap-, *keh₂p-“to hold; to seize”
4. Proto-Germanic · derived from*habjaną“to have; to hold”
5. Old Norse · derived fromhefð“occupation; possession; prescriptive right”
6. Scots · borrowed fromheft
7. English todayheft

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”).

heft · verb⁴

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kap-“to hold, seize”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*haftijaną“to bind; to secure”
3. Old Norse · derived fromhepta“to bind; to hinder, impede; to hold back, restrain”
4. Scots · borrowed fromheft
5. English todayheft

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”).

heft · noun⁵

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*haftijaną“to bind; to secure”
2. German · borrowed fromHeft“issue of a serial publication, number; magazine; notebook; notepad”
3. English todayheft

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.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• 16th–17th c. simple past and past participle of heave