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Gravity
Definitions
- 1 Senses relating to seriousness.; Of an activity such as a ceremony, a person's conduct, etc.: the quality of being deeply serious and solemn, especially in a dignified manner; seriousness, solemnity; (countable, archaic or obsolete) a serious or solemn thing, such as a matter, a comment, etc. uncountable
"Page. Yonder is a moſt reuerend Gentleman; vvho (be-like) hauing receiued vvrong by ſome perſon, is at moſt odds vvith his ovvne grauity and patience, that euer you ſavv. / [Robert] Shal[low]. I haue liued foure-ſcore yeeres, and vpvvard: I neuer heard a man of his place, grauity, and learning, ſo vvide of his ovvne reſpect."
- 2 a manner that is serious and solemn wordnet
- 3 Senses relating to seriousness.; Of an activity, situation, words, etc.: the quality of having important or serious consequences; importance, seriousness. uncountable
"I hope you appreciate the gravity of the situation."
- 4 a solemn and dignified feeling wordnet
- 5 Senses relating to seriousness.; Authority, influence, weight; also, used as a title for a person with authority or influence. obsolete, uncountable
"[T]ho' Guicciardin [Francesco Guicciardini] miſtakes in thoſe Points, vve may ſafely venture to depend on all the reſt of the Circumſtances as true Hiſtory: VVhy elſe ſhould they be mentioned by a Hiſtoriographer of ſuch Gravity?"
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- 6 (physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface wordnet
- 7 Senses relating to physical qualities.; The lowness in pitch of a note, a sound, etc. uncountable
- 8 Senses relating to physical qualities.; Synonym of gravitation (“the fundamental force of attraction which exists between all matter in the universe that tends to draw bodies towards each other, due to matter causing the curvature of spacetime”); also, a physical law attempting to account for the phenomena of this force. uncountable
"Aristotelian gravity Newtonian gravity"
- 9 Senses relating to physical qualities.; Synonym of g-force (“the acceleration of a body relative to the freefall acceleration due to any local gravitational field, expressed in multiples of g0 (the mean acceleration due to gravity (sense 2.2.1) at the Earth's surface)”). countable, dated
- 10 Senses relating to physical qualities.; Dated except in centre of gravity: specific gravity or relative density (“a dimensionless measure which is the ratio of the mass of a substance to that of some reference substance (chiefly an equal volume of water at 4°C)”); also, heaviness, weight. dated, uncountable
"Thus one generation is alvvays the ſcorn and vvonder of the other; and the notions of the old and young are like liquors of different gravity and texture, vvhich can never unite."
- 11 Senses relating to physical qualities.; The tendency to have weight and thus move downwards, formerly believed to be an inherent quality of some objects. obsolete, uncountable
"[…] Similitude of Subſtance vvill cauſe Attraction, vvhere the Body is vvholly freed from the Motion of Grauitie: For if that vvere taken avvay, Lead vvould dravv Lead, and Gold vvould dravv Gold, and Iron vvould dravv Iron, vvithout the helpe of the Load-Stone. But this ſame Motion of VVeight or Grauitie, […] doth kill the other Motion, except it ſelfe be killed by a violent Motion; […]"
- 12 Senses relating to physical qualities.; The quality of being unable or unwilling to move quickly; heaviness, sluggishness. obsolete, rare, uncountable
"[T]he learned authors of this vvorld ſay that about thirty yeares, man is in his full ſtate, and from that time, hee declineth to an age of more grauity and decay: […]"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us Proto-Italic *gʷraus Latin gravis Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin gravitāslbor. French gravitébor. ▲ Latin gravitāslbor. English gravity Borrowed from French gravité (“seriousness, solemnity; severity; (physics) gravity”), or from its etymon Latin gravitās (“heaviness, weight; seriousness; severity”) + English -ity (suffix forming nouns, especially abstract nouns). Gravitās is derived from gravis (“heavy; grave, serious”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- (“heavy”)) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating states of being). The English word was first used figuratively, and gained the senses relating to physical qualities in the 17th century. Doublet of gravitas.
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