Gravitas

Gravitas

"Gravitas" (from Latin) is a quality of substance or depth of personality.

"Gravitas" (specifically dignity, seriousness, and duty) is one of the several virtues that ancient Roman society expected men to possess, along with "pietas", "dignitas", and "iustitia.

"Gravitas" should not be confused with "gravity" in the sense of importance, although they have a common etymology, coming from the Latin for weightiness.

ee also

* "Pietas"
* "Dignitas"
*Latin


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  • gravitas — 1924, from L. gravitas weight, heaviness; figuratively, of persons, dignity, presence, influence (see GRAVITY (Cf. gravity)). A word that became useful when gravity acquired a primarily scientific meaning …   Etymology dictionary

  • gravitas — index severity, solemnity, validity Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • gravitas — ► NOUN ▪ dignity or solemnity of manner. ORIGIN Latin, from gravis serious …   English terms dictionary

  • gravitas — [grav′i täs΄] n. reserved dignity; propriety and good taste in behavior and speech, as of a leader or official …   English World dictionary

  • gravitas — [[t]græ̱vɪtæs[/t]] N UNCOUNT If you say that someone has gravitas, you mean that you respect them because they seem serious and intelligent. [FORMAL] Pale, dark, authoritative, with the gravitas you might expect of a Booker prize winner, former… …   English dictionary

  • gravitas — /grav i tahs , tas /, n. seriousness or sobriety, as of conduct or speech. [1920 25; < L gravitas; see GRAVITY] * * * …   Universalium

  • gravitas —    (GRAH vee tahs) [Latin] Weight; weightiness; importance; consequence. Dignity or seriousness of character.    For a full thirty minutes they sustained the illusion of gravitas once prized by Cicero and Cato the Elder. Harper’s Magazine, March… …   Dictionary of foreign words and phrases

  • gravitas — grav•i•tas [[t]ˈgræv ɪˌtɑs, ˌtæs[/t]] n. cvb seriousness or sobriety, as of conduct or speech • Etymology: 1920–25; < L gravitās; see gravity …   From formal English to slang

  • gravitas — /ˈgrævətæs/ (say gravuhtas) noun dignified authority; seriousness: *{his} deeply serious expression seemed, like the colour of his hair, to be an attempt at gravitas. In spite of it, he looked like a pixie. –amy witting, 1999. {Latin: weight} …  

  • gravitas — noun Etymology: Latin Date: 1869 high seriousness (as in a person s bearing or in the treatment of a subject) …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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