gravity
/ˈɡɹævɪti/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.21 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "[Y]ou ſhould ſee all thoſe grand cenſors, that novv ſtile them [plays] ſuch vanities, flock to them for the maine grace of their grauities: […]"
- "Gravity is the ballaſt of the ſoul, vvhich keeps the mind ſteddy. It is either true, or counterfeit."
- "I went to compliment the Dutchesse of Grafton [Isabella FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton], now laying-in of her first child, a sonn [Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton], which she call'd for, that I might see it. […] She discours'd with me of many particulars, with greate prudence and gravity beyond her yeares."
- "Gravity often paſſes for VViſdom, VVit for Ability; […]"
- "[T]he art, order, and gravity of thoſe Proceedings [of the Star Chamber] (vvhere ſhort, ſevere, conſtant rules vvere ſet, and ſmartly purſued, and the party felt only the vveight of the Judgement, not the paſſion of his Judges) made them leſs taken notice of, and ſo leſs grievous to the Publick, though as intolerable to the Perſon: […]"
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”), equivalent to grave (“serious”) + -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.