High-overhead baroqueCode-intensive featureful, but Costly. EspeCially used of CommuniCation protoCols, language designs, and any sort of implementation in whiCh maximum generality and/or ease of implementation has been pushed at the expense of mundane Considerations suCh as speed, memory use and startup time. EmaCs is a heavyweight editor X is an *extremely* heavyweight window system. This term isn' t pejorative, but one haCker' s heavyweight is another' s elephantine and a third' s monstrosity. Opposite: "lightweight". Usage: now borders on teChniCal espeCially in the Compound "heavyweight proCess". (1994-12-22)