La parte mayor o principal de algo, un uso antiguo que hoy aparece sobre todo en textos históricos.
Ejemplos
The heft of the harvest was stored before the first frost.
La mayor parte de la cosecha se almacenó antes de la primera helada.
By noon, the heft of the work was already done.
Al mediodía, la mayor parte del trabajo ya estaba hecha.
The heft of his estate passed to his eldest daughter.
La mayor parte de su patrimonio pasó a su hija mayor.
Only a few pages survive, though the heft of the manuscript was once complete.
Solo sobreviven unas páginas, aunque la parte principal del manuscrito estuvo completa en otro tiempo.
In this old account, heft means the greater part, not physical weight.
En este relato antiguo, la mayor parte es el sentido, no el peso físico.
Palabras similares
bulk
majority
greater part
main part
Levantar o sopesar
verb
physical
neutral
Levantar, sostener o transportar algo pesado, o alzarlo brevemente para calcular su peso.
Ejemplos
She hefted the suitcase onto the luggage rack.
Ella levantó la maleta hasta el portaequipajes.
He hefted each melon before choosing the heavier one.
Él sopesó cada melón antes de elegir el más pesado.
Can you heft that box into the van by yourself?
¿Puedes levantar tú solo esa caja y meterla en la furgoneta?
The porter did not heft the trunk easily, even with both hands.
El mozo no levantó el baúl con facilidad, ni siquiera con ambas manos.
I hefted the parcel to judge whether it needed extra postage.
Sopesé el paquete para calcular si necesitaba franqueo adicional.
Palabras similares
lift
hoist
heave
raise
lug
carry
Etimología
Se formó a mediados del siglo XV a partir de heave, probablemente siguiendo pares como weave y weft. El verbo con el sentido de levantar o comprobar el peso apareció después, en el siglo XVII.
FAQ
¿Qué significa heft?
Heft puede significar peso físico percibido, influencia o solidez efectiva, o la acción de levantar algo pesado.
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre heft y weight?
Weight puede medirse con exactitud, mientras que heft suele describir lo sustancial que algo se siente al manejarlo.
¿Qué significa political heft?
Political heft es la influencia o autoridad necesaria para afectar decisiones y acontecimientos.
¿Cómo se usa heft como verbo?
Heft significa levantar o transportar algo, a menudo con esfuerzo o para calcular su peso.
¿Tiene heft un significado antiguo?
Sí. Heft significó la parte mayor o principal de algo, pero ese sentido es ahora arcaico.
¿De dónde viene heft?
Heft se formó a partir de heave a mediados del siglo XV, probablemente por analogía con weave y weft.
Comments & contributions
Know this word from another angle? Add a correction, a nuance, or a usage note. New posts go public after a quick review.
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Proud Eagle
Aug 4
never connected it with hefty before, but now it looks obvious
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Loyal Donkey
Jul 30
German learners, careful: English heft is not das Heft. Das Heft is a school exercise book, a magazine issue, that sort of thing. I still misread this word for half a second.
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Eager Donkey
Aug 3
Genau. In my head Heft is still the small notebook from school, not weight at all
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Earnest Pelican
Jul 28
i got corrected once for saying "it has a big heft". Native speaker changed it to "some heft" or "a lot of heft". So it behaves more like an uncountable noun most of the time.
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Cosmic Peacock
Jul 26
With the verb, I would save it for the moment of lifting: she hefted the suitcase onto the bed. If she carried it round the airport for twenty minutes, that's carried or lugged, not really hefted.
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Jolly Hawk
Jul 26
yep, one action vs the whole miserable journey. "lugged it across campus" is the one i hear
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Cozy Robin
Jul 16
For knives, pens, game pieces, stuff like that, "heft" is usually a compliment. If a cheap controller has no heft, ppl mean it feels plasticky, not that they needed an exact weight.
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Subtle Whale
Jul 24
mechanical keyboard reviews too. heavy case = more "premium" somehow, even when your desk disagrees lol
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Ebony Bison
Jul 11
UK ear here: I understand heft, especially in reviews like "emotional heft", but I would not really say "this mug has heft" in normal chat. I'd probably say it feels weighty or solid.
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Jaunty Leopard
Jul 14
US here and "this pan has good heft" sounds totally normal to me, mostly for cookware and tools.