Highway

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈhaɪweɪ/Rhymes: -aɪweɪ

Origin

From Middle English heiȝwai, heiȝwei, from Old English hēahweġ ("main road, highway"), corresponding to high + way:

• Old English hÄ“ah ("of great height, tall"), from Proto-Germanic *hauhaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kowkos ("hill") +
• Old English weÄ¡ ("road, path"), from Proto-Germanic *wegaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- ("to move").

Cognate with Scots heaway, heway, hieway, hichway, heichway ("highway").

Full definition of highway

Noun

1. A main, direct public road, especially a multi-lane, high speed thoroughfare connecting major population centers.
• 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 7, The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of past cultures.
2. (rail)  Any public road for vehicular traffic.

Hyponyms

• (main public road) expressway, motorway