- ponderous
- ponderous (adj.) c.1400, "heavy, weighty, clumsy," from L. ponderosus "of great weight," from pondus (gen. ponderis) "weight" (see POUND (Cf. pound) (n.1)). Meaning "tedious" is first recorded 1704.
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
ponderous
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Ponderous — Pon der*ous, a. [L. ponderosus, from pondus, eris, a weight: cf. F. pond[ e]reux. See {Ponder}.] 1. Very heavy; weighty; as, a ponderous shield; a ponderous load; the ponderous elephant. [1913 Webster] The sepulcher . . . Hath oped his ponderous… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
ponderous — [adj1] heavy, cumbersome awkward, bulky, burdensome, clumsy, cumbrous, dull, elephantine, graceless, hefty, huge, laborious, lifeless, lumbering, massive, onerous, oppressive, substantial, troublesome, unhandy, unwieldy, weighty; concepts 491,565 … New thesaurus
ponderous — [pän′dər əs] adj. [ME < L ponderosus < pondus, a weight: see POUND1] 1. very heavy 2. unwieldy because of weight 3. that seems heavy; bulky; massive 4. labored and dull [a ponderous joke] SYN. HEAVY … English World dictionary
ponderous — I adjective awkward, big, boring, bulky, burdensome, clumsy, corpulent, cumbersome, cumbrous, dense, drearisome, dreary, droning, dull, elephantine, enormous, forced, gravis, hard to lift, heavy, hulking, labored, large, leaden, lifeless,… … Law dictionary
ponderous — cumbrous, cumbersome, *heavy, weighty, hefty Analogous words: *massive, massy, bulky, substantial: clumsy, *awkward, maladroit: *onerous, burdensome, oppressive, exacting … New Dictionary of Synonyms
ponderous — ► ADJECTIVE 1) slow and clumsy because of great weight. 2) dull or laborious. DERIVATIVES ponderously adverb. ORIGIN Latin ponderosus, from pondus weight … English terms dictionary
ponderous — [[t]pɒ̱ndərəs[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED Ponderous writing or speech is very serious, uses more words than necessary, and is rather dull. He had a dense, ponderous style. Derived words: ponderously ADV GRADED ADV with v ...the rather ponderously titled… … English dictionary
ponderous — pon|der|ous [ˈpɔndərəs US ˈpa:n ] adj [Date: 1300 1400; : French; Origin: pondéreux, from Latin ponderosus, from pondus; PONDER] 1.) slow or awkward because of being very big and heavy ▪ an elephant s ponderous walk 2.) boring, very serious, and… … Dictionary of contemporary English
ponderous — adjective 1 moving slowly or awkwardly because of being very big and heavy: an elephant s ponderous walk 2 boring and too serious: a ponderous and difficult book, intended for experts 3 very big and heavy: Calvin s way was blocked by the… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
ponderous — ponderously, adv. ponderousness, ponderosity /pon deuh ros i tee/, n. /pon deuhr euhs/, adj. 1. of great weight; heavy; massive. 2. awkward or unwieldy: He carried a ponderous burden on his back. 3. dull and labored: a ponderous dissertation.… … Universalium
