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