mighty

Alternative forms

• mightie (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English mighty, mightie, mighti, myghty, miȝty, maȝty, from Old English mihtiġ, mehtiġ, meahtiġ, mæhtiġ (“mighty”), from Proto-West Germanic *mahtīg (“mighty”), from Proto-Germanic *mahtīgaz (“mighty”), equivalent to might +‎ -y.

Cognate with Scots michty, mychty, Saterland Frisian machtich, Dutch machtig, German Low German machtig, German mächtig, Swedish mäktig.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪti/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪti/, [ˈmʌɪɾi]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪti

Noun

mighty (plural mighties)

1. (obsolete, rare) A warrior of great strength and courage.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Chronicles 11:12:

     And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties.

Adjective

mighty (comparative mightier, superlative mightiest)

1. Very strong; possessing might.

   He's a mighty wrestler, but you are faster than him.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 9:4:

     Wise in heart, and mighty in strength.

2. Very heavy and powerful.

   Thor swung his mighty hammer.

   He gave the ball a mighty hit.

3. (colloquial) Very large; hefty.
   • 1809, A History of New York, Washington Irving:

     Having listened attentively to the statement of Wandle Schoonhoven, giving an occasionable grunt, as he shovelled a mighty spoonful of Indian pudding into his mouth […]

4. Accomplished by might; hence, extraordinary; wonderful.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 11:20:

     His mighty works

   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 42, lines 637–638:

     Under his ſpecial eie / Abſtemious I [Samson] grew up and thriv'd amain; / He led me on to mightieſt deeds / Above the nerve of mortal arm / Againſt the uncircumciſ'd, our enemies.

   • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC:

     Mighty was their fuss about little matters.

5. (informal) Excellent, extremely good.

   Tonight's a mighty opportunity to have a party.

   She's a mighty cook.

Adverb

mighty (not comparable)

1. (colloquial) Very; to a high degree.

   You can leave that food in your locker for the weekend, but it's going to smell mighty bad when you come back on Monday.

   Pork chops boiled with turnip greens make a mighty fine meal.

   • 1665 June 7 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “May 28th, 1665 (Lord’s Day)”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume IV, London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1894, →OCLC:

     The lady is not heard of, and the King mighty angry and the Lord sent to the Tower.

   • 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 82:

     'He is a mighty handsome man!' 'I don't think so,' said Tess coldly.

   • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

     "You see, between you an' me close-tiled, I look on this South American business as a mighty serious thing, and if I have a pal with me I want a man I can bank on."

   • 1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter IV, in Hugo Gernsback, editor, Amazing Stories, (please specify |part=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing, 1927, →OCLC:

     I was mighty glad that our entrance into the interior of Caprona had been inside a submarine rather than in any other form of vessel. I could readily understand how it might have been that Caprona had been invaded in the past by venturesome navigators without word of it ever reaching the outside world, for I can assure you that only by submarine could man pass up that great sluggish river, alive.

   • 1964, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “Motorpsycho Nitemare”:

     I pounded on a farmhouse / Lookin' for a place to stay / I was mighty, mighty tired / I had come a long, long way

   • 1965, Shadow Morton (lyrics and music), “Sophisticated Boom Boom”, performed by The Shangri-Las:

     I was walkin' down the street / And it was gettin' mighty late

   • 1979, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)”, performed by Sylvester:

     And I know my love, it's about that time / Make me feel, mighty real