1520s, a transliterated Hebrew word occurring frequently at the end of verse in Psalter. Supposed to be a liturgical direction, perhaps meaning "pause," or perhaps a musical direction to raise the voice (compare Hebrew base s-l-l "to raise, lift").
"fork for lifting and pitching" (hay, etc.), commonly with a long handle and two prongs, mid-14c., altered (by influence of pichen "to throw, thrust;" see pitch (v.1)) from Middle English pic-forken (c. 1200), from pik (see pike (n.2)) + fork (n.). The verb, "to lift or throw with a pitchfork," is attested from 1837.
also pin-wheel, 1690s, "a wheel in the striking train of a clock in which pins are fixed to lift the hammer," from pin (n.) + wheel (n.). The fireworks sense of "long paper case filled with a combustible composition and wound spirally about a disk so that, when supported vertically and lit, it revolves in a wheel of fire" is from 1869.
The original sense was of motion, which led to that of lifting, then to that of "measure the weight of." The older sense of "lift, carry" survives in the nautical phrase weigh anchor. Figurative sense of "to consider, ponder" (in reference to words, etc.) is recorded from mid-14c. To weigh in in the literal sense is from 1868, originally of jockeys; figurative meaning "bring one's influence to bear" is from 1909.
c. 1600, from Late Latin susceptibilis "capable, sustainable, susceptible," from Latin suscept-, past-participle stem of suscipere "to take, catch, take up, lift up; receive, admit; submit to; sustain, support, bear; acknowledge, accept," from sub "up from under" (see sub-) + capere "to take," from PIE root *kap- "to grasp." Susceptive in the same sense is recorded from early 15c. Related: Susceptibly.
