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sash weight

sash weight

8.8
A heavy metal piece in a window frame that balances the moving part so it opens and closes easily
  • noun
  • /sæʃ weɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : contrapeso
  • To fix the sliding window, I need to add a new sash weight to balance it properly.

Examples

  • The old wooden windows were difficult to open because the sash weight was missing.

  • But he was really killed with a sash weight.

  • Fishermen kept bricks, iron sash weights, or concrete in pots to stabilize them on the bottom.

    Academic text (1990)
  • He replaced the broken sash weight in the window to ensure it would stay open.

Synonyms

counterweight
vssash weight
10 5.3

A weight that balances another weight in machines like cranes or elevators

is a heavy metal bar used to balance a sliding window

How Heavy

anvil
16 5.6
sash weight
  • Specialized
8.8
dumbbell
17 2.9
sinker
  • Jargon
2 4.0

Surface Forms

sash weight singular
sash weights plural

Morphology

sash + weight

The compound 'sash weight' is directly interpretable by combining 'sash' (a sliding window frame) with 'weight' (an object providing heaviness), yielding a weight associated with a sash used as a counterbalance. This noun–noun composition follows regular English compounding patterns and would be readily understood by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Sash weight comes from old houses where a heavy metal bar, the weight, sits hidden inside the window frame to balance the sliding sash. That picture of a hidden heavy bar holding and helping the window explains why the word means 'a counterweight that helps a sash move up and down'.