Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Gravity

Grav′i·ty (·ty̆), n.; pl. Gravities (#). [L. gravitas, fr. gravis heavy; cf. F. gravité. See Grave, a., Grief.] 1. The state of having weight; beaviness; as, the gravity of lead.

2. Sobriety of character or demeanor. "Men of gravity and learning." Shak.

! p. 648 needs proofing ##proof - especially italicized words (also in etymologies) are not properly marked !>

3. Importance, significance, dignity, etc; hence, seriousness; enormity; as, the gravity of an offense.

They derive an importance from . . . the gravity of the place where they were uttered. Burke.

4. (Physics) The tendency of a mass of matter toward a center of attraction; esp., the tendency of a body toward the center of the earth; terrestrial gravitation.

5. (Mus.) Lowness of tone; — opposed to acuteness.

Center of gravity See under Center. — Gravity battery, See Battery, n., 4. — Specific gravity, the ratio of the weight of a body to the weight of an equal volume of some other body taken as the standard or unit. This standard is usually water for solids and liquids, and air for gases. Thus, 19, the specific gravity of gold, expresses the fact that, bulk for bulk, gold is nineteen times as heavy as water.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.