Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1789, 1894-1986
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HEFT, v.2 To lift up, to remove by lifting (Gall. 1825 Jam.); to lift in order to estimate the weight (Bnff., Ayr., Kcb. 1956). Also found in Eng. and U.S. dial.Kcb. 1789 D. Davidson Seasons 3:
There to the beetling rock he hefts his prey, Of lam' or hare, ta'en frae the vale below.Ork. 1904 Dennison Sketches 6:
Hid wus droll tae see . . . de wives skreekan' an' heftan' deir heuks i' the faces o' the whalls, like born feuls.Kcb. 1911 Crockett Rose of the Wilderness xii.:
Muckle Tamson, . . . had been looking at his weapons and hefting his leaping-pole, evidently considering it as a weapon of immediate offence.Sc. 1947 Scots Mag. (May) 93:
Then, when they had packed their nice, new homes full of honey, he would go round testing their weight — hefting them, he called it.Edb. 1986 Fred Urquhart in Joy Hendry Chapman 46 42:
In Newton Patrick strangers often thought she was a man when they saw her hefting great boxes or sacks from the cart and carrying them on her shoulder.
Hence (1) vbl.n. heftin', a large piece, sc. something lifted with difficulty; (2) phr. to heft the nave, “to clench the fist and hold it out threateningly” (Ork. 1929 Marw., Ork. 1956).(1) Kcb. 1894 Crockett Lilac Sunbonnet xxxvi.:
What's aboot a bit chuckie an' a heftin' o' cake.
