Heaves

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /hiːvz/

Definitions

1. To exert a strong, often loud effort to lift or throw something ; to move upward or swell suddenly and forcefully, often with a pushing motion
2. To heave means to push or pull something with force, typically producing sound ; also to surge or rise powerfully in a quick movement
3. The act of using great effort to raise or throw an object ; the sudden rising or swelling movement, often seen in waves or breathing

Etymology: "Heaves" is the third-person singular present of "heave," so the plain story belongs to the verb. It descends from Old English "hebban," meaning "to lift," which goes back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to take up, lift." That same ancient root gave Dutch "heffen" and German "heben," both still meaning "to raise" or "to lift." The more surprising connection runs southward. Latin "capere," "to take," belongs to the same family, as do Ancient Greek "kaptein," "to gulp down," and Albanian "kap," "to grasp, seize." English "heave" and Latin "capio" therefore share a distant common ancestor, even though the two words look nothing alike. Over the centuries the sense narrowed from general taking-up toward forceful lifting and hauling, and the verb later picked up its sense of rising or swelling, as when a chest heaves or the sea heaves.

Synonyms: lifts, raises, hoists, throws, flings

Antonyms: drops, lowers, lets fall, descends, decreases