mighty

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.

noun

1. (obsolete, rare) A warrior of great strength and courage.

adj

1. Very strong; possessing might.
   He's a mighty wrestler, but you are faster than him.
2. Very heavy and powerful.
   Thor swung his mighty hammer.
   He gave the ball a mighty hit.
3. (colloquial) Very large; hefty.
   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 […] 1809, A History of New York, Washington Irving
4. Accomplished by might; hence, extraordinary; wonderful.
5. (informal) Excellent, extremely good.
   Tonight's a mighty opportunity to have a party.
   She's a mighty cook.

adv

1. (colloquial, dialect) 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 makes a mighty fine meal.
   'He is a mighty handsome man!' 'I don't think so,' said Tess coldly. 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 82
   I pounded on a farmhouse / Lookin' for a place to stay / I was mighty, mighty tired / I had come a long, long way 1964, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “Motorpsycho Nitemare”
   And I know my love, it's about that time / Make me feel, mighty real 1979, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)”, performed by Sylvester