Meanings
plural witherweights · alternative wither weight · alternative wother weight · alternative widder wecht · alternative wodderweght
- ScotlandUKarchaicdialectalA counterbalancing weight; counterweight.
He puts it ay so upon their hand that he gives them it with a wother weight; […]
1672, M. Bruce Rattling Dry Bones 12.2 more examples
It is good to have a speciall care that gifts come not in the ballance with grace; for that is too gross a wither-weight. Lay by the painted case when you weigh the jewell; […]
c1665, Sel. Biog. I 265.So, upon the whole, you judge that the balance preponderates on our side just now ?" " I should think sae, Sire, when sic a clod as this castle of Roxburgh is thrown into the bucket. It is nae witherweight this for the end of a weigh-bauk.
1822, James Hogg, The three perils of man; or, War, women, and witchcraft - Page 317
Origin
From wither- (“counter-”) + weight. Compare Middle English witherweȝen (“to counter-weight, counter-balance”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
witherweight. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/witherweight
“witherweight.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/witherweight. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “witherweight,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/witherweight.
Source: witherweight on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.