*heft*

n. [ From Heave: cf. hefe weight. Cf. Haft. ] 1. The act or effort of heaving; violent strain or exertion. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He craks his gorge, his sides,
With violent hefts. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Weight; ponderousness. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A man of his age and heft. T. Hughes. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The greater part or bulk of anything; as, the heft of the crop was spoiled. [ Colloq. U. S. ] J. Pickering. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; G. pl. Hefte /plu>. [ G. ] A number of sheets of paper fastened together, as for a notebook; also, a part of a serial publication.

The size of “hefts” will depend on the material requiring attention, and the annual volume is to cost about 15 marks. The Nation. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Hefted (Heft, obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Hefting. ] 1. To heave up; to raise aloft. [ 1913 Webster ]

Inflamed with wrath, his raging blade he heft. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To prove or try the weight of by raising. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Moderately heavy. [ Colloq. U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Strong; muscular; -- of people. [ PJC ]

3. Substantial; large; as, a hefty increase in annual profits. [ PJC ]

a. Having great tenderness; easily moved. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. thefte, AS. þiéfðe, þ&ymacr_;fðe, þeófðe. See Thief. ] 1. (Law) The act of stealing; specifically, the felonious taking and removing of personal property, with an intent to deprive the rightful owner of the same; larceny. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ To constitute theft there must be a taking without the owner's consent, and it must be unlawful or felonious; every part of the property stolen must be removed, however slightly, from its former position; and it must be, at least momentarily, in the complete possession of the thief. See Larceny, and the Note under Robbery. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The thing stolen. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, . . . he shall restore double. Ex. xxii. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Theft + bote compensation. ] (Law) The receiving of a man's goods again from a thief, or a compensation for them, by way of composition, with the intent that the thief shall escape punishment. [ 1913 Webster ]