gravitas

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See also: gravitás

English

WOTD – 17 November 2007
English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

Borrowed from Latin gravitās (“weight, heaviness”). Doublet of gravity.

Pronunciation

Noun

gravitas (uncountable)

  1. Seriousness in bearing or manner; dignity.
    • 2020 January 7, Katie Glueck, Shane Goldmacher, “Joe Biden, Seeking Commander-in-Chief Moment, Denounces Trump’s Iran Escalation”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:
      “Because he refuses to level with the American people about the dangers which he has placed American troops and our diplomatic corps, personnel and civilians, as well as our partners and allies, or demonstrated even a modicum of presidential gravitas, I will attempt to do that,” said Mr. Biden, who is one of 14 candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
  2. (figuratively) Substance, weight.
    • 2013 August 2, Paul Krugman, “Sex, Money and Gravitas”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:
      The other campaign against Ms. Yellen has been subtler, involving repeated suggestions — almost always off the record — that she lacks the “gravitas” to lead the Fed. What does that mean? […] Sorry, but it’s hard to escape the conclusion that gravitas, in this context, mainly means possessing a Y chromosome.
    • 2014 September 7, Natalie Angier, “The Moon comes around again”, in The New York Times‎:
      Unlike most moons of the solar system, ours has the heft, the gravitational gravitas, to pull itself into a sphere.
    • 2022 July 30, “‘Ambition greater than ability’: Liz Truss’s rise from teen Lib Dem to would-be PM”, in The Guardian‎:
      [Liz Truss] fails to display intellectual gravitas, they say, relying instead upon cheap slogans, and struggles to make convincing speeches, another facet of her character that could be quickly exposed under the intense scrutiny of Downing Street.
    • 2023 November 29, Richard Foster, “Tyne & Wear Metro goes with the flow”, in RAIL, number 997, page 32:
      It's a light rail system, after all, although it does operate at the heavier end of the light rail spectrum. Yet it doesn't have the history or the gravitas that (say) London Underground has.

Usage notes

Sometimes used in a jocular or stilted sense.

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

Esperanto

Pronunciation

Verb

gravitas

  1. present of graviti

French

Pronunciation

Verb

gravitas

  1. second-person singular past historic of graviter

Ido

Pronunciation

Verb

gravitas

  1. present of gravitar

Latin

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

From gravis (“heavy”) +‎ -tās.

Pronunciation

Noun

gravitās f (genitive gravitātis); third declension

  1. weight, heaviness
    Synonyms: mōlēs, onus, pondus
  2. gravity, seriousness
  3. severity, harshness
    gravitās caelī ― severity of the weather
  4. importance, presence, influence
    Synonyms: importantia, mōmentum, opportūnitās, pondus
  5. pregnancy
    Synonym: graviditās
  6. unwholesomeness, heaviness (in affecting one's health)
  7. fetidness, rankness, offensiveness
  8. (New Latin, physics) gravity

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative gravitās gravitātēs
Genitive gravitātis gravitātum
Dative gravitātī gravitātibus
Accusative gravitātem gravitātēs
Ablative gravitāte gravitātibus
Vocative gravitās gravitātēs

Related terms

Descendants

References

  • “gravitas”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “gravitas”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • gravitas in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • gravitas in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • healthy climate: caelum salūbre, salubritas caeli (opp. grave, gravitas)

Portuguese

Verb

gravitas

  1. second-person singular present indicative of gravitar

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡɾaˈbitas/
  • Rhymes: -itas
  • Syllabification: gra‧vi‧tas

Verb

gravitas

  1. second-person singular present indicative of gravitar
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