gravitas
See also: gravitás
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Latin gravitās (“weight, heaviness”). Doublet of gravity.
PronunciationEdit
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɡɹævɪtɑs/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɡɹæv.ɪ.tɑːs/, /ˈɡɹæv.ɪ.tæs/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file)
NounEdit
gravitas (uncountable)
- 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[1], ISSN 0362-4331:
- “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.
- (figuratively) Substance, weight.
- 2013 August 2, Paul Krugman, “Sex, Money and Gravitas”, in The New York Times[2], ISSN 0362-4331:
- 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[3]:
- 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[4]:
- [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.
Usage notesEdit
Sometimes used in a jocular or stilted sense.
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
AnagramsEdit
EsperantoEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
gravitas
- present of graviti
FrenchEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
gravitas
- second-person singular past historic of graviter
IdoEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
gravitas
- present of gravitar
LatinEdit
EtymologyEdit
From gravis (“heavy”) + -tās.
PronunciationEdit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈɡra.u̯i.taːs/, [ˈɡräu̯ɪt̪äːs̠]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈɡra.vi.tas/, [ˈɡräːvit̪äs]
NounEdit
gravitās f (genitive gravitātis); third declension
- weight, heaviness
- gravity, seriousness
- severity, harshness
- gravitās caelī ― severity of the weather
- importance, presence, influence
- Synonyms: importantia, mōmentum, pondus
- pregnancy
- Synonym: graviditās
- unwholesomeness, heaviness (in affecting one's health)
- fetidness, rankness, offensiveness
- (New Latin, physics) gravity
DeclensionEdit
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 termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- “gravitas”, in Charlton T[homas] Lewis; Charles [Lancaster] Short (1879) […] A New Latin Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Ill.: American Book Company; 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[5], London: Macmillan and Co.
- healthy climate: caelum salūbre, salubritas caeli (opp. grave, gravitas)
- healthy climate: caelum salūbre, salubritas caeli (opp. grave, gravitas)
PortugueseEdit
VerbEdit
gravitas
SpanishEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
gravitas