Word of the Day: Way and Weigh
Way
way / wā
noun
1. a passage, a road
Our cautious ancestors, when yawning, blocked the way to the entrance of evil spirits by putting their hands before their mouths.
George H. Mead, 1863 – 1931
2. the course to move forward or progress
The main road is an easy way, but everyone loves the side streets.
Chinese Proverb
3. the direction or path one is going on; a route
Better ask twice than lose your way once.
Danish Proverb
4. the means or process; the course of action
There are five ways in which to become wise: be silent, listen, remember, grow older and study.
Arabian Proverb
5. the manner, custom, style
Manners are the happy way of doing things.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882
6. the ability to decide for oneself
From now on, I’ll connect the dots my own way.
Bill Watterson, 1958 –
7. an aptitude or ability
Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them, filling an emptiness we don’t even know we have.
Thom Jones, 1945 – 2016
8. a condition
A church is in a bad way when it banishes laughter from the sanctuary and leaves it to the cabaret, the nightclub and the toastmasters.
Helmut Thielicke, 1908 – 1986
9. nearby, an area in close proximity
Arrange whatever pieces come your way.
Virginia Woolf, 1882 – 1941
10. the movement of a ship through water
When a large vessel has opened a way it is easy for a small one to follow.
Chinese Proverb
adverb
1. by a large amount or distance
We take ourselves way too seriously, and we don’t take God seriously enough.
Rick Warren, 1954 –
2. We’re all spending way too much of our time and energy trying to fight the stuff we can’t change.
Gayle King, 1954 –
Weigh
weigh / wā
verb
1. to measure the heaviness of someone or something
All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action.
James Russell Lowell, 1819-1891
2. to carefully consider or evaluate
Words must be weighed not counted.
Spanish Proverb
3. to be a specific weight or heaviness
My doctor said, ‘If you can weigh what you weighed in high school, you’ll essentially be healthy and not have Type 2 diabetes.’
Tom Hanks, 1956 –
4. to cause to bend due to excess heaviness
A feather will weigh down a scale when there is nothing in the opposite one.
Thomas Malthus, 1766 – 1834
5. to cause additional burden
It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow, that weigh a man down.
George MacDonald, 1824 – 1905
6. to raise anchor to prepare a vessel for sailing
If you’re not making waves, you’re not under weigh.
Chester W. Nimitz, 1885 – 1966