mighty

mighty, a. and adv.
  (ˈmaɪtɪ)
  Forms: 1 mæhtiᵹ, meahtiᵹ, mihtiᵹ, 1–2 mehtiᵹ, 2–4 mihti, 2–3 Ormin mahhtiȝ, 3 mæhti, mahti, maȝti, miȝti, michti, 4 mihty, myhti, -y, 4–5 maȝte, miȝty, -i, myȝty, -i, (4 -tty, 5 -tie), miȝeti, myhety, 3–5 mighti, 4–5 Sc. mychty, 4–6 myghty, (5 myghti, -tty, myȝhty, myȝthty, mythty, mytheti, Sc. michtie), 5–6 Sc. mychti, 6 myȝghty, myghty(e, Sc. michti, -ie, -y, -tty, mychte, -ie, myghti, 6–7 mightie, -ye, 4– mighty.
  [OE. mihtiᵹ = OFris. mechtig, machtig, OS. mahtig (MLG. mechtig, MDu. machtich, Du. machtig), OHG. mahtîg (MHG. mehtic, mod.G. mächtig), ON. mátteg-r, mǫ́ttug-r (also contracted in inflected máttk-), Goth. mahteig-s:—OTeut. types *mahtîgo-, *mahtugo-, f. *mahti-z, *mahtu-z: see might n. and -y¹.]
  A. adj.
  1. Possessing ‘might’ or power; powerful, potent, strong. Now only rhetorical, connoting a transcendent or imposing degree of power. a. Said of God, rulers, nations, etc.

c 825 Vesp. Psalter xxiv. 8 Dryhten strong & maehtiᵹ, dryhten mæhtiᵹ in ᵹefehte. a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xiv. [xxv.] (1890) 56 Ða wæs on þa tid æðelbyrht cyning haten on Centrice, & mihtiᵹ. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 231 An rice king wes, strang and mihti. a 1240 Wohunge in Cott. Hom. 273 Drihtin is mahti strong and kene ifihte. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 16 Thei sein that god is myhti there, And schal ordeine what he wile. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 682 Thai mighty men vpon mold ane riale course maid. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 282 Most mightie Duke, vouchsafe me speak a word. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 124 God..from him will raise A mightie Nation. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 809 Mighty Cæsar, thund'ring from afar, Seeks on Euphrates' Banks the Spoils of War. 1761 Gray Odin 83, I know thee now; Mightiest of a mighty line. 1864 Tennyson Boadicea 40 Fear not, isle of blowing woodland,..thou shalt be the mighty one yet!

ellipt. and absol. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 129 Drihten alesde þene wrechan of þan mehtiȝan. 1340 Ayenb. 103 He is þe riȝt guod,..þe riȝt miȝti.

  b. of persons, with reference to wealth, social position, or influence. Formerly often predicatively, const. of, in.

c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xli. (Agnes) 105 My spouse is mychtyere þane þi son, & fere richere. 1486 Rec. St. Mary at Hill 6 That the saide Preest..be chosen and presented..by iiij of the worthyest & myghtyest men of the said parissh. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 296 Syne maryit I a marchand, myghti of gudis. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 40 This prince is so mightie in gold and silver. 1650 Fuller Pisgah ii. ix. 186 They were all richly married to mighty matches of landed men.

absol. 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop i. vi. (1889) 11 The poure ought not to hold felauship with the myghty. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxx. 180 As well the rich, and mighty, as poor and obscure persons.

  c. of persons or animals, their actions or attributes, with reference to physical strength or valour. † In early use often merely: Able-bodied. Obs.

c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxxvi. 4 Swe swe strelas in honda maehtᵹes. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 565 Wel koude he hewen wode..ffor he was yong and myghty. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 111 Bi lawe cyuil it is not leful to a miȝty body to beg. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 263 Thei gette myȝhty childer [1387 Trevisa stalworþe: L. robustam sobolem]. a 1500 in Arnolde Chron. (1811) 92 Yf ony..myghty beggar be within the warde. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxvii. 36 And syne the Bruce..cum rydand..As nobill, dreidfull, michtie campioun. a 1525 Vergilius in Thoms E.E. Prose Rom. II. 23 Her chyld..began to wexe bygge and stronge and myghty anough to bere armes. 1530–1 Act 22 Hen. VIII, c. 12 If any person..beynge hole and myghty in body..be taken in begging. 1535 Coverdale Gen. x. 9 Nemrod..was a mightie hunter. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. vi. 29 Their mighty strokes their haberjeons dismayld. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. 163 The Scottis couragious, of a blyth hope, and a mychtie spirit, leipis to straikis. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iii. i. 111 Your hearts are mighty. 1601 ― Jul. C. v. i. 81 On our former Ensigne Two mighty Eagles fell. 1622 R. Hawkins Voy. S. Sea (1847) 126 Our ship gave a mightie blow upon a rocke. 1733 Pope Ess. Man iii. 297 Where small and great, where weak and mighty, made To serve, not suffer, strengthen, not invade. 1839 Longfellow Vill. Blacksm. i, The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands. 1859 Tennyson Lancelot & Elaine 63 For so by nine years' proof we needs must learn Which is our mightiest.

  d. of persons, their actions and attributes, with reference to mental ability or executive skill. Formerly often predicative, const. in or inf. mighty works: in Biblical use (= Gr. δυνάµεις), miracles.

c 825 Vesp. Psalter li. 3 Ðu mæhtiᵹ erð in unrehtwisnisse. c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xv. 90 Se lareow sceolde beon mihtiᵹ to tyhtanne on halwende lare. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 150 Þeiȝ ȝe be miȝty to mote beþ meke of ȝour werkis. 1382 Wyclif Acts xviii. 24 Apollo..a man eloquent,..myȝti in scripturis. c 1470 Henry Wallace vi. 346 Thar feild..Quhar claryowns blew full mony mychty sonis. 1535 Coverdale Ps. xxviii. 4 The voyce of the Lorde is mightie in operacion [Vulg. Vox Domini in virtute]. ― Matt. xiv. 2 He is rysen agayne from the deed, therfore are his deedes so mightie. 1611 Bible Matt. xiii. 54 Whence hath this man this wisedome, and these mighty works? 1718 Echard Hist. Eng. II. ii. ii. 565 b, Thomas Lydyat..of a great Soul and incomparable Learning; being a Match for the mighty Scaliger and Selden. 1737 Pope Hor. Epist. ii. i. 137 Or what remain'd so worthy to be read By learned Critics, of the mighty dead. 1742 ― Dunc. iv. 211 Thy mighty Scholiast, whose unweary'd pains Made Horace dull. 1802 Wordsw. Resol. & Independ. xvii, And mighty Poets in their misery dead. a 1853 Robertson Lect. ii. (1858) 146 Out of which a mightier master of the art than Pope could scarcely have struck the notes of true passion. 1881 Bible (R.V.) Mark ix. 39 For there is no man which shall do a mighty work [Wyclif a virtue; 1535 Coverdale, 1611 a miracle] in my name. [So also Acts ii. 22.]

  e. of things or forces, or their operation.

c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3797 A fier maȝti ðat folc fest on. a 1300–1400 Cursor M. 9384 (Gött.) For sune and mone..Had seuen sith mar þan nou of liht, And all thinges was þan..Wele mihtier þan þai er nou. 1535 Coverdale Exod. xv. 10 They sancke downe as leed in the mightie waters. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. v. 5 Now swayes it this way, like a Mighty Sea, Forc'd by the Tide, to combat with the Winde. 1611 Bible 1 Esdras iv. 41 Great is trueth, and mightie aboue all things. 1781 Cowper Charity 283 But shipwreck, earthquake, battle, fire, and flood, Are mighty mischiefs, not to be withstood. 1806 Wordsw. Ode Intim. Immort. 168 And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 767 Then he,..Because things seen are mightier than things heard, Stagger'd and shook.

  f. Of drugs, liquors, spells: Potent, efficacious. † Also, of a material: Stout, strong. Obs.

c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 32 Ond þu weᵹbrade wyrta modor eastan opone innan mihtiᵹu. a 1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 187 Min heouenliche leche þet makedest us of þi seolf se mihti medicine. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 311 This Carpenter..broghte of myghty Ale a large quart. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxii. 102 It es riȝt myghty wyne. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 12 Take myghty brothe of Beef. c 1448 Hen. VI Avyse in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 367 Good and myghtty morter. 1497 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 242, lxvj boltes of Grete myghty canvas. 1576 Baker Jewell of Health 230 Where the spyrit of the wyne shall be sufficient myghtye. 1610 Rowlands Martin Mark-all 22 Their Beere is..so mightie, that it serueth them in steade of meate, drinke, fire, and apparrell. 1781 Cowper Anti-Thelyph. 37 On every mind some mighty spell she cast. 1819 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 115 Barls o' michtie beer.

  † g. Of a legal document: Valid, efficacious. Obs.

c 1450 Oseney Reg. (E.E.T.S.) 19 This present writyng, with þe strengh of our seele we haue i-made hit myȝghty and stronge.

  † h. Forcible, emphatic. Obs.

1642–7 Jer. Taylor Episc. 229 The Councell of Aquileia..is full and mighty in asserting the Bishops power over the Laity.

  2. Of huge proportions; massive, bulky.

1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. ii. 59 This tree is wondre stronge and myghty aretchyng in to heuen 1420–22 Lydg. Thebes i. in Chaucer's Wks. (1561) 357 b/1, The citee Thebes, of mightie square stones As I you told. 1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriot. i. (1736) 17 That large Urn found at Ashbury, containing mighty Bones. 1760 Fawkes tr. Anacreon, Ode lvii. 1 Bring hither, Boy, a mighty Bowl. 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. iii, And silence settled..On the lone wood and mighty hill. 1851 Ruskin Stones Ven. (1874) I. xxviii. 327 A plain, deep-cut recess, with a single mighty shadow. 1895 Saffling Land of Broads 6 The older farm⁓houses, with their mighty kitchens.

  3. a. Of things, actions, events, etc.: Very great in amount, extent or degree. In later use, chiefly colloquial or familiar.

1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 68 The..mutuall society betwixt man & wife being of such mighty efficacie. 1605 Shakes. Lear iii. v. 17 If the matter of this Paper be certain, you haue mighty businesse in hand. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. Man. ii. i. 317 There is a mighty flux of blood. 1697 tr. C'tess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 220 The difference of times makes a mighty alteration in the Events of things. 1754 Fielding Jonathan Wild ii. iv, That gentleman..made such mighty expedition that he was now upwards of twenty miles on his way. 1843 Borrow Bible in Spain xi, Huge serpents..which sometimes come out and commit mighty damage. 1865 Kingsley Herew. i, Mighty fowling and fishing was there in the fen below. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxxxiii. 2 This to the fond weak fool seemeth a mighty delight.

  b. With agent-nouns, etc.: That does or is to a very great degree (what is indicated by the noun).

1692 Bulstrode in 15th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. ii. 21 He was..a mighty Tory. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 466 ¶7, I, who set up for a mighty Lover..of Virtue. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 81 This Plastow was a mighty Favourite with the Captain. 1843 Borrow Bible in Spain xxx, He is a mighty liberal.

  4. quasi-n. (with pl.). A mighty or powerful person. Chiefly pl., as in (David's) three mighties.

1382 Wyclif 1 Chron. xi. 12 Eliazar, the sone of his vncle Ahoites, that was among the thre myȝty [1388 miȝti men; 1611 the three mighties. Vulg. inter tres potentes]. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 300 Quhan thai saw that mighty [the king] sa mouit in his mude. 1600 W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 200 Emperors and kings and the mighties of the world. 1606 W. Crashaw Rom. Forgeries E ij, Our royall Dauid and many of his Mighties. 1647 Trapp Comm. 1 Cor. i. 26 Hence so many mighties miscarry. 1901 ‘Ian Maclaren’ Yng. Barbarians iv, Speug's officers, such mighties as Bauldie and Johnston,..clustered round their commander.

  5. ellipt. in the interjections mighty! mighty me! Sc. and dial.

1867 Gregor Banffs. Gloss., Michtie, interj. expressive of surprise. Michtie me is another form. 1869 A. Macdonald Disput. Settlement (1877) 61 (E.D.D.) Eh, mighty! that surely canna be. 1874 T. Hardy Madding Crowd xxxii, Mighty me! Won't mis'ess storm..when she comes back!

  6. Comb., parasynthetic, as mighty-brained, mighty-handed, mighty-minded, mighty-mouthed, mighty-spirited adjs.

1611 Beaum. & Fl. Maid's Trag. v. iii, Though he be mighty-spirited, and forward To all great things. 1855 Lynch Rivulet lxxxii. iii, How came it, men of faith, to pass That ye were mighty-handed? 1864 Tennyson Milton 1 O mighty-mouth'd inventor of harmonies. 1865 Swinburne Atalanta 1009, I am not mighty-minded, nor desire Crowns. 1892 W. Watson Lachrymæ Mus. Poems (1898) 21 Mightiest-brained Lucretius.

  B. adv. (Qualifying an adj. or adv., † rarely an adj. phrase.) In a great degree; greatly; exceedingly; very. Now colloq. or familiar, often with ironical implication; = ‘vastly’, ‘precious’.

a 1300 Cursor M. 14396 Þair blisced lauerd..þat..was..Sa mighti meke, sa mild o mode. 1535 Coverdale Exod. ix. 18 Tomorow..wyll I cause a mightie greate hayle to rayne. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. v. iii, He is mightie on our part. 1660 Barrow Euclid Pref. (1714) 2 The mighty near affinity that is between Arithmetick and Geometry. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. iv. (1841) I. 91 You are a mighty good obedient thing. 1767 Gray in Corr. G. & Nicholls (1843) 70 To this purpose..would I write, and mighty respectfully withall. 1838 Dickens O. Twist xlix, This is all mighty fine. 1844 Kendall Santa Fé Exped. I. 32 ‘You'll be mighty apt to get wet’, said a thorough⁓bred Texan. 1862 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 105, I myself know always mighty well what I want. 1883 Stevenson Treas. Isl. xxix, It..looks mighty like a horn-pipe in a rope's end at Execution Dock. 1931 W. G. McAdoo Crowded Yrs. ii. 23 That seemed to me to be mighty good pay. 1958 Times 16 Oct. 17/1 They left it till mighty near no-side before they got their noses thankfully in front.

Oxford English Dictionary