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)

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^[1], →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^[2], →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^[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.

   • 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

• gravitate
• gravity

 

Translations

serious

• German: Bedeutung (de) f, Gewichtigkeit f, Würde (de) f, Würdehaftigkeit f, Gravität (de) f
• Italian: sussiego (it) m
• Polish: powaga (pl) f
• Turkish: ciddiyet (tr)

Anagrams

• stravaig, vagarist

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡraˈvitas/

Verb

gravitas

1. present of graviti

French

Pronunciation

• Homophones: gravita, gravitât

Verb

gravitas

1. second-person singular past historic of graviter

Ido

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡraˈvitas/

Verb

gravitas

1. present of gravitar

Latin

Etymology

From gravis (“heavy”) +‎ -tās.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡra.u̯i.taːs/, [ˈɡräu̯ɪt̪äːs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡra.vi.tas/, [ˈɡräːvit̪äs]

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

• graviter
• gravitō

 

Descendants

• Aromanian: griutati
• Catalan: gravetat
• → Dutch: graviteit
• → English: gravitas, gravity
• → French: gravité
  • → Romanian: gravitate
• Galician: gravidade
• → 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^[5], 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/ [ɡɾaˈβ̞i.t̪as]
• Rhymes: -itas
• Syllabification: gra‧vi‧tas

Verb

gravitas

1. second-person singular present indicative of gravitar