Weighing

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈweɪ.ɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Determining how heavy an object is entails evaluating its mass while also judging relative importance and considering emotional aspects in choices made
2. The process of measuring the mass of an item occurs alongside assessing its relevance and reflecting on the emotional weight of decisions made
3. Measuring the heaviness of an object by using a scale or balance ; considering the significance or impact of something when making a decision

Etymology: The verb "weigh" descends from Old English "wegan," which meant "to move" or "to carry" before it meant to determine heaviness. The same ancient root, reconstructed as "*weǵʰ-" and glossed as "to bring, transport," gave Germanic the sense of hauling a load, and the idea of weighing grew out of the physical act of lifting and moving something to judge its heft. Scales and balances were, in this sense, a way of carrying a thing into the measuring. That old meaning of motion survives in its relatives. "Wagon" and "vector" come from the same root, as does "way," which once referred to a path along which things were carried. So a term now used for careful deliberation (weighing options, weighing evidence) traces back to the plain business of moving goods from place to place.

Synonyms: measuring, gauging