gravitas
See also: gravitás
English
WOTD – 17 November 2007
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin gravitās (“weight, heaviness”). Doublet of gravity.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɡɹævɪtɑs/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɡɹæv.ɪ.tɑːs/, /ˈɡɹæv.ɪ.tæs/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
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, 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, 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:
- 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.
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Usage notes
Sometimes used in a jocular or stilted sense.
Related terms
- gravitate
- gravity
Translations
serious
|
Anagrams
- stravaig, vagarist
Esperanto
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡraˈvitas/
Verb
gravitas
- present of graviti
French
Pronunciation
- Homophones: gravita, gravitât
Verb
gravitas
- second-person singular past historic of graviter
Ido
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡraˈvitas/
Verb
gravitas
- present of gravitar
Latin
Etymology
From gravis (“heavy”) + -tās.
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈɡra.u̯i.taːs/, [ˈɡräu̯ɪt̪äːs̠]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈɡra.vi.tas/, [ˈɡräːvit̪äs]
Noun
gravitās f (genitive gravitātis); third declension
- weight, heaviness
- Synonyms: mōlēs, onus, pondus
- gravity, seriousness
- severity, harshness
- gravitās caelī ― severity of the weather
- importance, presence, influence
- Synonyms: importantia, mōmentum, opportūnitās, pondus
- pregnancy
- Synonym: graviditās
- unwholesomeness, heaviness (in affecting one's health)
- fetidness, rankness, offensiveness
- (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
- graviter
- gravitō
Descendants
- Aromanian: griutati
- Catalan: gravetat
- → Dutch: graviteit
- → English: gravitas, gravity
- → French: gravité
- → Romanian: gravitate
- → German: Gravität
- → Italian: gravità
- Old French: grieté
- → Portuguese: gravidade
- Romanian: greutate
- Spanish: gravedad
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)
- healthy climate: caelum salūbre, salubritas caeli (opp. grave, gravitas)
Portuguese
Verb
gravitas
- second-person singular present indicative of gravitar
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡɾaˈbitas/ [ɡɾaˈβ̞i.t̪as]
- Rhymes: -itas
- Syllabification: gra‧vi‧tas
Verb
gravitas
- second-person singular present indicative of gravitar